MELANOMA - IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR My story starts in 1989 and the tragic and avoidable early death of a much loved uncle at the age of 39.
My dad’s brother, Pete, had ignored the growing mole on his abdomen and ignored the frequent, ‘nagging’ requests from his wife to go and get checked out. Despite much surgery, skin grafts and chemo the cancer had spread. He died at home and our family was shaken to the ground.
None of us have ever really got over it - does anyone ever? But we have learnt and we have fought back at what is now clearly a familial genetic predisposition to melanoma. Soon after this my dad instilled in me and my brother the importance of checking for moles. From a young age, I had two fairly prominent moles - one on my abdomen and one on my back. We looked, checked, applied sunscreen and covered up. These two moles have never changed size, shape or colour. But others have… As a young adult, I kept vigilant, sat (mostly) in the shade on holidays, applied sunscreen and learnt ...
https://www.melanomauk.org.uk/....melanoma-its-a-famil