Capalaba woman honouring memory of stepfather

A Redlands woman is motivated to raise awareness about melanoma after losing her stepfather to the disease.

Zayn (1.5), Hisham, Yasmina (5) and Jade Baki at the Botanic Gardens, Gardens point. Picture: Renae Droop/AAP

TO Jade Baki and her two children, her stepfather Mark Evans was a special role model and someone who played a major role in their lives.

But last year their lives took a turn when he was diagnosed with stage four brain melanoma following a seizure at work.

Mr Evans, who grew up in Wynnum, died five months later, leaving his family ­devastated but determined to help raise awareness of melanoma.

“It was a major shock when he was diagnosed with stage four brain melanoma because it’s not something you even think about and there’s no cure,” said Mrs Baki, who lives in Capalaba with husband Hisham and children Zayn and Yasmina.

“He fell at work and we went to the doctors thinking he just did something to his back or hip and not long after we found out about this diagnosis.

“It turned out he was having seizures, which led to the fall.

“From there, he didn’t even last the six months they gave him. It’s hard to take because he was so young.”

Jade Baki with her five-year-old daughter Yasmina. Picture: Renae Droop/AAP

Mrs Baki said the hardest thing was watching what her stepfather went through before his death.

“It was hard watching someone so close to you go through what he did in the next few months. He never got his quality of life back,” she said.

“He would have seizures and we wouldn’t know what to do and he would have psychotic episodes and would be quite delusional.

“Losing him was huge for our family, he raised me since I was six months old and played a big part in my family’s life too.”

Jade Baki who took part in the Brisbane Melanoma March. Picture: Renae Droop/AAP

Mrs Baki and her family took part in the Brisbane Melanoma March on March 24 with the aim of raising funds and awareness for melanoma research.

“Awareness is the most important thing,” she said.

“It was just incredible hearing some of the other people’s stories from the march, people who have melanoma and you realise that a lot of us don’t know much about it or even think about it.

“So hopefully these stories can get out there and we can help raise awareness about melanoma.”

The Brisbane Melanoma March has so far raised more than $90,000. For more information or to donate, visit brisbane.melanomamarch.org.au.