North Coast skin cancer survivor Marisa Worling one of many set to join MIA’s Ballina Melanoma March on Saturday
A North Coast woman’s life changed forever when so-called shin splints turned out to be advanced skin cancer. Now she’s joining a national movement to stamp out the insidious disease. Here’s her story.
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Ballina woman Marisa Worling, whose life was turned upside down by a skin cancer diagnosis, is one of the thousands of Australians marching against melanoma this weekend.
The Melanoma March is a national campaign run by the Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA).
Ms Worling grew up in Lismore and spent much of her childhood enjoying the North Coast’s beautiful beaches, sunbaking outdoors.
As an adult, she regularly got her skin checked and was in the clear – until an incident seven years ago.
She was participating in a 50 kilometre trail run and had to stop at the 23km after experiencing a sharp pain in her leg.
At first, a doctor diagnosed a shin splint – but the situation quickly deteriorated.
Subsequent tests revealed Ms Worling had a stage four, or “advanced”, melanoma diagnosis affecting her tibia and scalp.
“It was a complete shock going straight to stage four … it turned my life upside down,” she said.
Ms Worling underwent surgeries, radiation and immunotherapy, and still has regularly check-ups and MRIs.
“It never goes away and you can feel like you’re living scan to scan,” she said.
“It’s always in the back of your mind.”
This year, Ms Worling will march at the Ballina fundraiser on Saturday to spread hope and raise awareness about the disease.
“People need to look after themselves by adopting sun safe practices and look for changes on their skin,” she said.
“Too many people think ‘it won’t happen to me’ – but it can – and the journey back from melanoma is a difficult one. Some people make it, and others don’t.”
Australia has the highest melanoma rates in the world.
One person is diagnosed every 30 minutes and another dies from the disease every six hours.
The nationwide campaign is spearheaded by MIA’s co-medical directors and the 2024 Australians of the Year, Professor Georgina Long AO and Professor Richard Scolyer AO.
They were awarded the honour for revolutionising melanoma treatment and advocating for sun safety.
During their acceptance speech, the duo called for urgent action to stop the glamorisation of tanning.
“There is nothing healthy about a tan. Nothing. Our bronzed Aussie culture is actually killing us,” Professor Long said.
“Imagine the outcry if smoking was still glamorised like this.
“We must elevate sun-safety to equal status as other life saving safety measures like seatbelts and helmets.”
This call to stop tanning will be a key focus of this year’s marches.
The Ballina Melanoma March will be held at Missingham Park on Saturday.
More information about the event can be found online.
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