I have this thing with Cameras…..very much a love hate relationship….I love taking photos of other people…but hate having my photo taken.
A measured dose of body dysmorphia means I am extremely critical of photos of me….but it isn’t just me….other people notice it too! I don’t have a “huge nose” and yet in some photos from certain angles my nose seems to turn Pinocchio like and hook at the end…people often take photos of me & then comment about how I don’t look like “me” in them!
I try to smile normally but inevitably end up looking like a/a smirking version of Patsy from Absolutely fabulous – you know – drunk face!…or b/with some freaky grin / grimace like Wallace from the infamous animation.
The British Skin Foundation reached out to ask if I would speak to a national paper about Melanoma for an article they were running on the increase of Cancers in the UK.
The interview itself went well….I read the 300+ word article…made a few suggestions & sat back feeling really pleased…it was a good write up…I felt like I represented patients & had the opportunity to mention the upcoming conference – which pleased me that the journalist seemed keen to put the link to it in the paper.
Then a photography session was booked.
I found an outfit according to their brief (skirt & solid colours)…and The Mr & I shifted furniture around for the 2 hours session…it takes a long time to get a decent photograph clearly!…apparently because the article was covering 5 different Cancer areas all subjects need to be photographed with white backdrops so the photographs could be joined together & look as though we were in the studio at the same time…..
The act of being photographed is unsettling….trying to hold oneself at exactly the right angle so that those 10 pounds the camera normally adds don’t suddenly get converted into 20.
And the end result…..well I needn’t have worried & in fairness I quite like the picture…which is very unusual for me! Why they needed to take 2 hours of photographs for an article when all the photos ended up just being thumbnail in size is beyond me (and only head & shoulders)!
The article itself was something of a let-down….partly because it was a third of the length that I had read in proof…but also because it wasn’t even completely accurate to what had been discussed…and there wasn’t a mention of the conference after all.
But my mini promotion campaign continues….
I would love more event sponsors to take the” juggle stress” away….but more importantly I need to generate more awareness of the event from patients across the UK – ones that don’t know about it from my blog or from the online support forums.
So I contacted my local paper & they have done a really great piece for me – it’s been in the Stroud Life & also in the Gloucester Citizen which has a wider audience.

Stroud Life Article
You never know….sometimes what it takes is a really well written piece from the local news to get a decent article in a national paper and if that means I have to torture the public with pictures of my face, wonky nose & all, then that’s just what I am going to have to do!
After all….what we are looking at here is to achieve change…to make things better for patients across the UK. In order to change…we need to be heard & seen & that means we need to be visible.
I sometimes get so busy thinking about the conference & being wrapped up in the plans that work towards it that I almost “forget” that I am a patient too…I know that sounds weird – but I sort of think of organising the conference as something I am doing for others – not something that I will get any benefit from.
But then I had a message from a very close friend…she had spotted a couple of moles that she was worried about….well…she had spotted them and then left them for a while because she was scared of what they might be.
Eventually she saw her GP who took one look at them and booked an urgent dermatologist referral.
It was at this point that she reached out to me. Fear of the unknown – or worse – fear of what it could be (because she knows me) and she wanted to just air her fears.
Thankfully the dermatologist has seen the moles and given her a clean bill of health. But just for a few hours I remembered how it felt to be that patient facing an uncertain future.
No amount of promotion & raising awareness of Melanoma can actually take away the fear of the monster.