The 10th most common cause of cancer death in Australia, melanoma can afflict people of all ages with 1,455 deaths from melanoma of the skin in Australia (958 males and 497 females) in 2021.
Lidcombe’s Ron Connolly has a scar from his neck to his collarbone after doctors removed 54 lymph nodes to tackle his melanoma.
He’d found a hard lump in his neck but with no known family history, didn’t suspect it was a melanoma cancer.
“I’d played a lot of competitive tennis when I was younger, it was nothing for us to play eight sets an afternoon in the sun,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have gone to the GP even but my wife made me get it checked out and I was lucky, the day they sent me to hospital, there was a professor on who was an expert in melanoma.”
Thankful he received the best treatment available at the time, Ron keeps out of the sun now as much as possible even though he has a backyard pool.
“But it’s only for the grandkids and we make them put on sunscreen, there’s a whole table of the stuff nearby, you can’t be too careful,” he said.
Melanoma Institute is calling on all Australians to join its 2024 Melanoma March campaign to support lifesaving research and raise awareness about the disease which now claims one Australian life every six hours.
To find out more and get involved: melanomamarch.org.au.
March to help find killer cure
DO you have a mole that’s growing larger or changing colour? Or do you have swollen lymph nodes, a hard lump, unexplained pain or feel tired or unwell?
