May is Melanoma Awareness Month, but for me and many others, melanoma is much more than 'just skin cancer'. I've been dealing with early stage melanomas for many years, but last summer I found out my cancer had spread beyond my skin to my lymph nodes, as a Stage 3 metastatic melanoma diagnosis - prompting surgery, extensive year-long treatment, and a significant change in mindset and lifestyle.
Melanoma is one of the most deadly forms of skin cancer, but for most, it's also one of the most preventable if caught early. Regularly checking your skin for moles or spots, wearing SPF daily, and avoiding sun beds are all things we can and should be doing to protect ourselves.
However, I'd also like to draw attention to the later stages of melanoma, where traditional treatments like chemotherapy don't show much success. Me and others with advanced melanoma rely on the latest innovations coming out of cancer research, particularly immunotherapy and targeted treatments to kill and minimise the spread of the disease. In my own treatment plan at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, I have benefited from the very latest medicine and approaches that has gotten me to place where I currently show no evidience of active disease. With months of treatment still to go, and the nature of advanced melanoma presenting a high risk of reccurrence, staying cancer-free will be a lifelong journey.
In honour of Melanoma Awareness Month, I've gathered my most amenable friends for an afternoon of hard work, grit, laughs and a bit of mud to raise money for my cancer hospital's research arm -- The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Your donations will help fund the latest cancer research and technology that has single handedly saved my life, and will continue to save others. At the same time, I'd encourage anyone reading this to check their moles, book a skin check, and more broadly always be your own health advocate.
Thank you for your support!
Gabi + friends x
Raising for
Donation Summary
£1,045.52
raised of £500
