Video Transcription

My Cancer Story – Rebecca

I grew up in country South Australia and spent a lot of my childhood just playing outside. When I got a little bit older, I started to develop a lot of spots and moles on my skin. Around the age of 21, I noticed one in particular on my back that had gotten a little bit bigger and a little bit darker.

It turned out to be a level three melanoma on my back. I needed further surgery to have the tumor removed. After about six to seven months, I noticed that in the area where the first tumor was removed, two little spots had returned that were much darker than the other spots.

Those spots were removed and sent for testing. Unfortunately, I received the bad news that both of them were malignant melanomas as well, and I would have to go in for a much more intense surgery. I had the tumors cut out, and I had my lymph nodes removed.

I remember waiting to go into the surgery room. My surgeon came to get me and drew a rough picture of a body, showing me what they planned to do. Then, he drew a picture of what the scar would look like. At the time, I remember asking him if it was to scale, and he said, unfortunately, that it was—that was the size of the scar I was going to receive.

Even though I had waited weeks before making my appointment, I remember the doctor telling me that if I had left it any longer, the cancer would have spread, and I would have been dead in three months.

Video by Sun Smart