A young businesswoman’s plea after deadly skin cancer diagnosis
A young Sydney businesswoman has issued a warning to Australians after making a grave skin cancer discovery at just 26 years old.
A young businesswoman has issued a warning for people to be sun smart after making the discovery she has skin cancer.
Laura Thrum from Sydney’s northern beaches spent a lot of time in the sun, surfing and swimming. Her yearly skin checks usually returned a clear result, but late last year the 26-year-old noticed an “ugly” mole on her leg that had begun to change.
She started to take photos of the mark to show her doctor how it had changed.
Laura, who runs her own yoga mat business called Meraki Mats, booked a GP appointment in April and was told the mole was nothing to worry about. However, once she showed the photos to the doctor, it was decided they would take the mole out as a precaution and get a biopsy.
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A week after having the mole removed, Ms Thrum received the devastating news that she has invasive malignant melanoma.
“At first it was an overwhelming wave of fear because I didn’t even know what the next step was. It’s isolating, you don’t want to think of the worst but you don’t want to be completely shocked if it is the worst,” Ms Thrum told 7 News.
She was called back to get a larger biopsy on her leg and had two lymph nodes removed to check if the cancer had spread to her lymphatic system.
The biopsy came back positive – one of the lymph nodes had a small amount of cancer and she was diagnosed with early stage three melanoma.
She is now awaiting further testing to ensure the cancer hasn’t spread anywhere else before beginning treatment.
After going through what she describes as, “highs and lows”, Ms Thrum is now urging others to take action and get their skin checked regularly to be sun smart.
The 26-year-old says she has now changed her daily routine and applies sunscreen all over instead of moisturiser.
She pleaded: “Getting your skin checked is something we need to place a higher importance on. I’m a prime example of people thinking it’s never going to be them.”
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