Julie and Peter Mansell establish Morgan Mansell fund to honour daughter
Nearly two years after the death of their daughter Morgan from melanoma, Julie and Peter Mansell are urging people to check their skin for spots.
East
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The bereaved parents of an Ashwood woman who died from melanoma in 2018 have started a foundation to honour her dying wish to raise awareness of the importance of getting your skin checked.
Morgan Mansell was diagnosed with melanoma after discovering a spot on her ear in 2017.
She died just 16 months later but spent the remainder of her life blogging to raise awareness of skin cancer.
Parents Julie and Peter have started Check4Spots day to be held on what would have been Morgan’s 27th birthday on January 30.
Mr Mansell said his daughter’s “dying wish” was to urge people to get regular skin checks.
“We want people to realise that melanoma is the most common cancer among young Australians aged 15 to 39,” he said.
Mr Mansell said the key to successful treatment was finding something early.
“She had a mole on her ear and by the time it was diagnosed as melanoma it had spread to her lymph nodes,” he said.
“If we had got onto it earlier she would have had a better chance. What she wanted to do was to get the message out that it is quite curable if it’s found in the earlier stages.”
Mr Mansell said his daughter, who also suffered from multiple sclerosis, “touched people across the world” through her blogging and social media awareness campaigns.
“The way she described all her battles touched people across the world. Through social media you can do a lot of good, too,” he said.
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Mr Mansell said he hoped people would help their loved ones check for spots.
“Please take the time on this day to grab a partner and look for any suspicious spots on your back or ears, or anywhere you can’t see,” he said.