Justine's story

Justine, from Maghull in Liverpool, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in 2006 after noticing changes to a mole on her chest. 

 “I used to love tanning - I went away on lots of holidays in the sun and would regularly sit out all day with no protection,” she said. 

“By the time I was 15 I’d started using sunbeds regularly, and even though I burned badly over the years, it wasn’t until my mid 30s I started thinking about changing my behaviour. 

“Then, in 2004, I took up running which was when I noticed a freckle, which turned into a small lump on my chest. I ignored it at first, putting it down to irritation from my sports bra. But when I went on holiday to Thailand in 2006, it started changing, going gooey, and then turned black. 

“I remember searching the internet for skin cancer, and seeing pictures in my doctor’s surgery, but I still didn’t think it could happen to me. However, a couple of months later I was visiting my doctor and realised I’d better get it checked. 

“I was immediately referred to a specialist, who told me I had skin cancer. I was scheduled to have surgery, but it was a bigger procedure than we first thought, as the cancer had attached itself to my muscle. They also found another lesion on my back in the process which turned out to be cancerous. 

“After that things looked good until early 2007, when I found a suspicious lump on my head. This was also diagnosed as cancer, and I had to have a major operation, where they took a muscle graft from my stomach to fill the gap. While I haven’t had any major surgery since then, in 2018 my GP sent my back to hospital and I had a lesion successfully removed.   

“Even though I’m still being monitored, I feel back to my old self – my friends even tell me I’m glamorous now, and I’m enjoying taking pride in my appearance again. However, the scars from my previous operations will always be a reminder of what happened and I’m now extremely careful in the sun.”