Melanoma is killing Kiwis
New Zealand has highest rate in world with more than 4000 cases diagnosed yearly
‘ Ishouldn’t have waited so long.” Those are the words of Tauranga woman Pamela Jones who hopes others don’t have to experience the past eight years she has.
A mole on her back in December 2012 was the first sign she needed to be checked but with the rush of the holiday season, Jones decided she would see to it at an easier time.
“I should have also looked at my back because it was quite bad and quite deep.
“It had infiltrated my lymphatic so it was in my bloodstream.”
Melanoma is more than “just a skin cancer”, Jones said, who now has tumours in her brain.
The past eight years have been a rollercoaster of treatments for Jones, who has been fighting cancer with a positive outlook since day one.
New Zealand has the highest incidence of melanoma in the world with more than 4000 cases diagnosed each year.
More than 300 Kiwis die from melanoma each year.
Jones had surgery to have the cancer removed in 2013 but a few months later she noticed blue dots around her groin area.
The cancer had spread but she was able to get a new drug Dabrafenib, specifically for melanoma, on compassionate grounds, so she did not have to find the $21,000 a month it would usually cost.
It worked for her for two years until bumping her head led to an MRI and she found out brain tumours were now part of her diagnosis.
“All it has done for me is make me live every day and enjoy my life. We’ve all got a journey and none of us knows when it’s gonna end.”
Countless surgeries and medications, a new diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, believed to be a side effect of medication, plus a hip replacement, and radiation to her brain have all been part of her journey.
In January she will undergo her “last hope”; another five day round of radiation on the brain.
“People don’t realise how dangerous melanoma can be. This could be you if you don’t get checked.”
Dr Rosalie Stephens, medical oncologist and Melanoma New Zealand board trustee, said New Zealanders’ complacency was part of the problem.
“There is a range of factors that contribute to our high melanoma rates. Our UV radiation intensities in New Zealand are high because of our environment,” she said.
“We have less ozone than elsewhere, we have clean air and the sun orbits closest to the Earth during our Southern Hemisphere summer.
“That, combined with New Zealanders’ love of an outdoor lifestyle and our complacency when it comes to protecting our skin from the sun, contribute to our very high melanoma rates.”
Typically, melanoma is caused by sun exposure in people with a fair skin type, however, everyone is at risk. Those who have a personal or family history of melanoma are more at risk, Stephens said, and so are those who use sunbeds.
Stephens said those with olive or darker complexions can still get melanoma.
“Melanoma is a problem for Ma¯ori, who have a disproportionately high death rate from melanoma, compared to the rate of diagnosis.”
The aggressive melanomas usually present as a new spot on the skin, so Stephens advised getting a GP or specialist to check a skin lesion that hasn’t been noticed before.
If there is a change in an existing freckle or mole, such as a change in colour, change in shape or size, bleeding, or itching, that also needs immediate attention as not doing so could be fatal.
“The melanoma cells have the ability to survive and spread to lymph nodes and other parts of the body through the bloodstream.
“Melanoma can spread from the skin to the brain, lungs, and liver and once that has happened it is difficult to cure it.”