Having local news stories come out a similar time to the national press coverage was purely coincidental.
Local coverage has been excellent for generating interest in the 10K charity run I am doing with 5 friends to raise money to find a cure for Melanoma. We are so keen to raise as much money as we possibly can, and 100% of the money sponsored will go towards researching Melanoma. (links to the local stories are below)
The national story with the Daily Mail was very much about raising awareness of Skin Cancer in general. Having never done anything like that before I was understandably nervous.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2615283/Think-sun-worshippers-skin-cancer-Wrong-As-rates-malignant-melanoma-soar-six-sufferers-share-stories-proving-ANYONE-fall-victim-deadly-disease.html
I think the story was written very well…the message was clear…anyone can get skin cancer & you don’t have to burn or sunbathe to get it. The most important thing for me with any new article is the accuracy of the information about Melanoma…no worries there!
Articles in local papers don’t tend to generate vast numbers of comments so for me the most bizarre thing about the article in the national press is the comments afterwards….total strangers chucking their 5 penneth in for good measure.
Some were shocking…No I do not have skin cancer because of my religious beliefs… others ludicrous…what the colour of my dress means to my Melanoma diagnosis!
There were various overriding themes in the comments…one was actually a common point across many of the personal stories….missed diagnosis & early detection.
My Melanoma was not removed quickly – it was insitu for at least 6 months & then when it was removed it was shaved off leaving the Melanoma that had already penetrated the dermis to continue with its misdeeds.
Had it been removed earlier would the story be different…..almost certainly!
Interestingly (for me at least!) there was a good article on the BBC news
about the very same issue. Can we blame GP’s for not detecting / diagnosing Melanoma quickly enough? Well in my case it wasn’t just 1 GP – but 3 that saw my mole…and more worryingly 2 dermatologists…all of whom used a dermatascope & said the mole was nothing to worry about. It turned out my Melanoma cells were “Atypical” which meant that the glass test didn’t work.
I don’t think detection /early diagnosis should be a case of ticking standard rules off on a list…it should be about patient care & if a patient thinks a mole is sinister & it ticks at least 3 of the ABCDE’s, even if it is still thought to be ok, why not take it off. ½ syringe of local anaesthetic & 2 minutes of a GP’s time with a scalpel & it can be removed.
The money that could be saved by the NHS by taking precautionary measures rather than the “whoops” approach is quite staggering! Not to mention morally preferable.
The fact that the BBC article suggests that ¼ of cancers are missed by GP’s and are diagnosed following A & E visits is not surprising.
I am a member of an online Melanoma support group & late diagnosis is a common complaint.
If Skin Cancer is, as it is, increasing in frequency at an alarming rate, then the raising of awareness needs to happen just as much inside the medical profession as with the public. We need to know…to believe and to trust that the professionals that we go & see are giving us the advice that we need. So often issues of concern as missed…ignored or brushed off…whether through ignorance, lack of knowledge and training or simple laziness. Sadly as patients we need to be more proactive with our health & our own diagnosis…take photographs of your Moles. (there are some great apps you can download onto your smartphone that analyse and monitor moles for you!)
Last week the Cancer stats in the press claimed the survival rate for Melanoma was 8 in every 10….yes if detected early this figure stands true. Know your skin. Understand what Melanoma means & how to protect your body from damage caused by UV rays.
This week in the press there were wonderful & uplifting figures highlighting a doubling of the number of people reaching 10 year survival rates. Is that 10 years of actual survival…or 10 years of battles & medical fights & tests & treatments…surely that isn’t survival as much as war!
In terminology from the Melanoma conference I went to in Brussels last month they use a term called PFS. Progression Free Survival. Current drugs available for Melanoma give patients a range of PFS that varies from 4 months to 24 months…each patient is different in terms of how they react to drugs, but with so few drugs available on the market to tackle Melanoma I have to hope that the run we do in 5 weeks’ time raises huge amounts of money so that more treatments with better survival rates come along.
One of the great friends I have made through the Melanoma support group said having Melanoma was like being in the Mafia…once in…..never out!
May is Melanoma Awareness Month.
Be aware, be careful….I truly with all my heart don’t want you to join this club. x

Stroud News & Journal Article :http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/11185280.Mother_of_two_Imogen_to_run_10K_race_after_being_diagnosed_with_skin_cancer/?ref=mr

Stroud Life Article : http://www.stroudlife.co.uk/Brave-mum-s-taking-fight-skin-cancer/story-21000576-detail/story.html