In 2015 at the age of 20, I noticed a small lump on my scalp that would consistently bleed when I brushed my hair. After having it surgically removed, a routine biopsy turned my life upside down forever. It was diagnosed as a Melanoma.

Seven years on and after being diagnosed with incurable metastatic melanoma in 2017, I continue to fight this insidious disease every day. I’ve been on five different immunotherapies, endured five surgeries to my head and neck, weeks on end of radiotherapy to my head, lungs and bone and three extensive surgeries to my abdomen and pelvis to remove tumours that do not respond to treatment. I’ve had 60 lymph nodes, 17 melanoma tumours and both ovaries removed. At 27, I am infertile and going through menopause. Melanoma took away my ability to become a mum.

The list doesn’t stop there. Treatment has presented its challenges, including a long list of drug-induced autoimmune diseases, and endless side effects.

Thanks to the amazing generosity of donors, and the consistent hard work of health professionals, the six months I was given to live has turned into three years. These three years have been invaluable time to push towards finding the perfect liquid gold that could cure my disease. Three more years to spend time with the people I love the most. Three more years to raise as much awareness and funding I possibly can to prevent the suffering and heartache for others at the hands of this retched disease.

If I had been diagnosed just a few years prior, I would have had a less than 10% chance of being alive today. That is the undeniable power of research and fundraising. The more funding we can give melanoma research, the quicker we can get access to new treatments, and the better our chances are at making it out the other side.

While there have been major breakthroughs in the treatment of metastatic melanoma, almost 50% of patients are still not responding, or only have partial response to current treatments. One person is diagnosed with melanoma every 30 minutes in Australia. This story you’re reading right now could one day be yours, or that of someone you love.

While I don’t know what the next few months or years hold for me and my disease, I do know that I am dedicated to preventing others from enduring what my family and I are going through. Every six hours, one person dies of melanoma in Australia. And that is why we have started the Six Hour Project. Melanoma is the most preventable cancer in Australia and so I feel it’s crucial to share my story in the hopes of preventing anyone I can from having to go through a battle that no one should ever endure.