Rockhampton man Danny Quirk shares his melanoma story as skin check campaign kicks off

He thought of himself as an “everyday guy” and didn’t think he’d have to worry about cancer. But one small freckle changed all of that for Danny Quirk. Here’s his amazing story.

The famous saying is to “trust your gut” and for 55-year-old Danny Quirk, it saved his life.

It was Danny’s persistence that saved his life after he was diagnosed with a level four nodular melanoma in November 2019.

It was a questionable freckle on the right-hand side of Danny’s head that had him worried.

“I used to do a lot of driving between Rockhampton and Blackwater, I worked underground … the freckle was on my driving side,” he said.

“A sort of pimple came up beside it, next to a larger skin mark, I thought it was strange so I kept an eye on it and said ‘if it changes I’ll go to the doctor’.

“I went to my doctor on November 21 in 2019 and told him it had changed … he said it didn’t look like anything but I will remove it for you.”

Eight days after the freckle was removed Danny was told the news his freckle was a melanoma.

“I said to him (the doctor) ‘what do I do now?’,” he said.

“And he said some people just go home and see if anything develops or you can do something more … I told him I want to go to a specialist now.”

It was from then Danny’s cancer journey began.

On December 9, Danny underwent a procedure where he had his lymph nodes traced and more tissue removed to make sure there was no more.

“Usually with melanoma they take a larger site and some lymph nodes, but if the node or nodes are in front of your ear they don’t like to just remove it because it helps with the control of things in your neck and arms,” he said.

“They found my lymph node in front of my ear and the doctor recommended not to take it so they took out a larger site to make sure they got it all.”

But despite more being taken from the site of the melanoma, Danny still wasn’t happy.

“On the way home from Brisbane I still had a bad feeling that not everything was explored,” he said.

When he arrived back in Rockhampton, Danny booked himself an appointment with another doctor to get a second opinion.

The new doctor recommended Danny get the lymph node checked to see if it had grown in size in comparison to the one on the other side.

“On Christmas Eve I went for a fine needle biopsy and on New Year’s Eve the results came back and there was melanoma in the lymph node,” he said.

Just days later, Danny was back at the Princess Alexandra Hospital’s melanoma clinic where he saw the head surgeon who told him he would need a neck dissection to remove the lymph nodes.

“It’s a procedure where they take the lymph nodes from the front and behind your ear and your jawline,” he said.

“They took my lymph nodes out and thankfully it (the cancer) had only gone to the one node, none was found in the others.”

After his procedure Danny was put on immunotherapy for about 12 months and now undergoes regular check ups.

Danny’s message for others is to always get a second opinion of you aren’t happy with your first diagnosis.

“My story is until two doctors or specialists say the same thing, keep going until you’re comfortable … if I had waited until there was lump I could feel it would have been too late,” he said.

“I’m just a normal everyday guy and didn’t think I should worry about melanoma, but I did a lot of driving when I was younger and the melanoma was on my driver side.”

After going through the ordeal, Danny now provides support to other melanoma patients who go through a similar scenario.

“They don’t pair us up with just anyone, they match you with someone who has gone through the same or similar to what you did,” he said.

Danny is now a big advocate for the new campaign launched by Melanoma Patients Australia and Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials called Self-Skin Checks, No Regrets.

The campaign targets Australians aged 60 and older in regional and rural areas to encourage them to do regular self-skin checks to find unusual spots, moles, or lesions, and get online for the latest resources, patient stories and skin check guides.

The campaign is also targeting regional and rural communities and particularly men, who are twice as likely than women to die from melanoma.

According to Melanoma Patients Australia, these are the five things people should remember when doing a self-skin check.

• Examine your body for any unusual spots, moles, or lesions;
• Use a full-length mirror to check and scan your entire body;
• Do not forget to check areas you cannot see easily including under your arms, in between your toes and your ears;
• Ask a loved one to check for areas you cannot see or reach including on top of your head and your back;
• If you see any unusual spots, moles or lesions immediately seek guidance from your healthcare professional.