Renée Marchment

PATIENT STORIES - RENEE MARCHMENT

I am the School Administration Manager of Crescent Head Public School, an organising committee member of the Lower North Coast Dance Festival and a passionate advocate for the importance of skin protection.   

My melanoma journey began when my beautiful daughter was just 10 weeks old. I had a mole on the back of my thigh that I noticed had changed during my pregnancy. 

I was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma and given a 40 – 60% chance of survival at 24 years of age. I was a new mum AND a cancer patient… my life was turned upside down.

My most extensive surgery was the removal of all the lymph nodes from my left groin where a cluster of tumours were found.

My surgery was part of the 60 Minutes story that aired in February of 2005, Dying for a Tan, where I was one of four patients. A gentleman in his 50s, a young father at 28, myself at 24 and a 16-year-old boy. 

Of those, I am the only survivor.

My survival is my inspiration to show my appreciation and endless gratitude for the care and treatment I have received from medical professionals. 

I feel extremely lucky to call myself a Stage 3 survivor. This disease took my beautiful aunty from us far too soon in March of 2001 and I have also had many other loved ones affected by it.

I am a firm believer in the power of positivity. The power of the mind. Focusing on the positives of life instead of the negatives. I choose to be optimistic because it makes me feel better.

I know that, realistically, this isn’t always easy as the fear never leaves you, but I do try and project this and radiate my appreciation every day.   

I truly believe that if you can surround yourself with the right people and attitude, powerful things can happen.

However, the reality of the current statistics of melanoma is so frightening with melanoma being the most common cancer of 15 to 39-year-old Australians. Melanoma kills one Australian every five hours. And that is heartbreaking.

I have hope though that one day there will be a cure for melanoma and am passionate and dedicated in helping researchers achieve this goal. I want to continue raising further awareness, to contribute to helping make a difference. Contribute to researching cures. Clinical care. To educating our youth and communities. To help show that protecting your skin is cooler than not!

I feel very fortunate to have so many beautiful people in my life! This has always been a positive for me during what was such a traumatic time. My family and friends surround me with love and support. Those sorts of situations can really show you who your true family and friends are, and also surprise you with new, meaningful connections.

I firmly believe that their love and support helped immensely during what was such a horrific time.

Monitoring our skin and getting a skin check with a professional is so important. My message to all is that early detection is the key to increasing survival rates! We need to protect our skin by being smart in the sun so we can be safe in the sun, too.

Renée Marchment