What cancer were you diagnosed with?

melanoma

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What age were you diagnosed?

26

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What has helped you to thrive?

So many things! A positive mindset, an incredible healthcare team, my work, travelling, reading, cooking, podcasts, yoga and other holistic healing practices - but most importantly the support that I have received from my friends and family.  

My son is now 2 years old. Small children have an incredible ability to live wholly in the moment. For them, all that matters is what’s happening right now. He has forced me to stay fully in the present and has helped me thrive more than anything else since my diagnosis. 

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Immy's Story

I was initially diagnosed with stage II melanoma (a small mole on my back, that was surgically removed) in October 2014 when I was 26 years old. Treatment was over and done with by Christmas of that year, and life pretty much went back to normal immediately. I got married and had a little boy, and all of my 3 monthly skin checks remained clear. Then in June 2019, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with metastasised melanoma, now in my lungs. I had no symptoms, it was picked up on a routine MRI scan for something entirely separate.

I’m currently having immunotherapy treatment (2 rounds of Ipi and Nivo combined, and an additional 7 rounds of single Nivo to date) which, at the moment, are showing positive results. I feel incredibly lucky that I have been diagnosed with stage IV melanoma in today’s world, where all of a sudden there are treatment options available to me. Only a few years ago, things would have looked so different. 

My diagnosis has been a huge shock as I have no family history of cancer, and I was never sunburnt as a child. I am so grateful for the support of my family and friends, without whom I would never have been able to get through the last year.