‘LUCKY to be alive’ – a Rugby mum who survived skin cancer after her husband noticed changes to a mole on her neck has teamed up with her teenage daughter to help launch a sun safety campaign.
Teaching assistant Kim Teasdale, 44, was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma in 2017 and needed life-saving surgery to prevent it spreading.
The experience was so scary that her 17-year-old daughter Hermione was inspired to create a sun safety presentation and video for her school.
Now the pair have teamed up with Cancer Research UK and Nivea Sun to encourage people to follow three simple steps this summer: seek shade, cover up and apply sunscreen regularly and generously.
Kim, a teaching assistant at Bilton CofE Junior School, said: “Finding out I had melanoma was the worst day of my life.
“Hearing the word cancer was devastating – I actually don’t have the words to explain how I felt, all I know is that millions of thoughts and feelings came rushing to me all at once. After the initial shock and rollercoaster of emotions I got in the mindset of ‘damn you cancer, I will beat you!’
“I do feel strongly that there needs to be more awareness that melanoma is actually cancer growing in the largest organ of your body. Awareness was very limited when I was growing up.
“Now, I make sure I’m covered up and take some time out of the sun in the middle of the day, as well as always being prepared with hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. It’s natural to want to make the most of warmer days, but sun safety doesn’t mean missing out, just being careful.”
Kim says she’s lucky to be alive and thanks her husband for encouraging her to show the changing mole on her neck to a GP.
She said: “I never thought anything of it until it started to change shape and colour. Then my husband noticed it weeping and insisted I get it checked out.
“I was told it was an aggressive form of cancer, so I was lucky to catch it as early as I did. If I hadn’t gone to the doctors at that point, I might not be here today.”
Kim had a biopsy which showed she had stage 1 melanoma. Although it had been caught early, she was told the cancer was fast growing.
Kim had two further surgeries to remove the wider area around the cancer and lymph nodes to limit the chance of recurrence.
“If you were to look at me you wouldn’t know I had cancer,” added Kim. “To the outside world I didn’t look like a cancer patient as I didn’t have chemo or lose my hair.
“Nevertheless, it was cancer, and I still had to have treatment. A huge operation, recovery time, check-ups and the constant fear in the pit of my stomach that it would come back. So just because something isn’t visible, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.”
Hermione remembers her mum sleeping on the couch for two weeks after surgery due to the pain.
In an animated video created to raise awareness of skin cancer, Hermione said: “The day my mum was diagnosed with cancer was the day me and my family’s world fell apart.
“After surgery, mum was in constant pain I remember how hard we all took it. She laid on the couch for two weeks before she could make it upstairs to bed.”
Hermione, a student at Rugby Free Secondary School, now wants to do all she can to spread awareness.
“Please, if you notice anything peculiar on your skin, call your GP and get it checked out,” she said. “Remember to seek shade, cover up and apply sunscreen. Finally, if you see something, say something.”
Kim, who joined a national melanoma research study after her diagnosis, added: “Thanks to advances in research and treatment, I’m still here and looking forward to enjoying more precious moments with my loved ones this summer.”
Visit www.cruk.org/sunsafety for more advice, or to donate to skin cancer research.
See above to watch Hermione’s video.
