Carmen Keogh’s powerful message as she battles stage 4 cancer from mole

Queensland FIFO worker Carmen Keogh felt perfectly healthy when doctors discovered her body was riddled with cancer. Now she’s in the fight of her life.

Carmen Keogh (in the chair) is in the fight of her life after she was diagnosed with stage 4C metastatic melanoma in December 2024 that is believed to have stemmed from a mole she had removed in 2017. She is supported her during her immunotherapy treatments. Pictures: Supplied

By all appearances Carmen Keogh is a picture of health.

A smart, hardworking and fit 33 year old who radiates with a vibrancy and positivity that belies the brutal reality of her body’s internal battle.
In truth, she’s in the fight of her life.

The Queensland FIFO worker has stage 4 metastatic cancer.

When she received her devastating diagnosis in late 2024 Carmen was in shock – she had no symptoms.

But underneath her body was riddled with tumours that lit up in the results of a PET scan.

It is likely they stemmed from a melanoma she’d had removed seven years earlier.

“There were spots on my liver, lungs, lymph nodes, subcutaneous tissue and on my bones as well,” she said.

“It was very daunting, because I felt fine, I felt completely healthy.

“I was more in shock than anything, I remember just thinking ‘are you sure that’s my scan’.”

Carmen Keogh is in the fight of her life after she was diagnosed with stage 4C metastatic melanoma in December 2024 that is believed to have stemmed from a mole she had removed in 2017. Pictures: Supplied

‘The mole didn’t even look bad’

Carmen has known she was highly susceptible to cancer since she was 25 and learned she carried a rare genetic mutation called BAP1 tumour predisposition syndrome.

In 2017 she had an itchy clear mole removed from her hand that had been dismissed by two GPs as having “nothing wrong with it”.

But she had pushed for its removal because years before her cousin had a similar mole removed that turned out to be a melanoma.

“It just sat with me,” Carmen said, adding she was rarely in the sun and had never used a solarium.

Further testing revealed her mole was a Clark Level IV melanoma.

“I was absolutely shocked. The mole itself didn’t even look bad,” she said.

So her lymph nodes were treated and she got the all clear saying it hadn’t spread.

Seven months later she had another mole removed which turned out to be a rare type of BAP-oma. And more testing revealed the genetic mutation.

“I’m more at risk of developing various cancers including melanomas,” she said.

It was during a routine check up Carmen learned the devastating news.

The tumours in her subcutaneous tissue were visible through her skin. Picture: Supplied

“They found spots on my liver (and) I was sent for a PET scan,” she said.

“The PET scan ended up showing spots everywhere.”

On December 9, 2024 Carmen was diagnosed with Stage 4C metastatic melanoma cancer, believed to have originated from that initial mole.

Her doctors told her it must not have been cut out early enough and “a cell had to escape (that was) just chilling in my body”.

She said she was “aware that cancer was on my radar” but had been shocked at how much it had spread while she didn’t “feel any different”.

Her doctors believe her youth and being healthy had helped.

PETscans revealing how the tumours had spread throughout her body. The final image shows how the targeted therapy tablets are working for the moment. Pictures: Supplied

‘I don’t know if I want to know’

Carmen was given about 24 hours to make a decision on whether she wanted immunotherapy or clinical trials. At the time she had been relocating from Mackay to Brisbane.

“So the timing kind of worked out freakishly well … I needed to be there for the treatment,” she said.

After five rounds of immunotherapy she had to change treatments. “Unfortunately it wasn’t working … the cancer had progressed,” she said.

In April this year she started targeted therapy tablets, and began researching alternative methods.

So far the pills seem to be working.

Tumours visible in Carmen’s subcutaneous tissue reduced and she found the right balance of days on/off taking the pills to avoid the bad side effects that included tingling arms and legs and extreme fatigue.

Carmen did five rounds of immunotherapy but it didn’t work and she had to change to targeted therapy tablets. Pictures: Supplied

“But the oncologist has told me that while they’re effective for now it’s uncertain how long they’ll keep working for. Most people eventually develop a resistance,” she said.

And there was no way of knowing when or if that would happen.

“Some people have been on them since they first came out in 2013 and it’s still working … (for) other people it will stop working around the six-month or one year later. Everybody’s different.”

Carmen said her oncologist told her if the immunotherapy treatment worked “it was about a 62 per cent chance that I’d be here in the next five years”.

“But since immunotherapy treatment hasn’t worked, I haven’t actually asked her what the prognosis is … I don’t know if I want to know, if it’ll make it worse,” she said.

‘I don’t waste any days being down’

Her strength is rooted in personal experience, having lost her mother to ovarian cancer when she was 17.

“I saw how strong she was and as soon as I was diagnosed I was like, we’re doing this,” she said.

“I appreciate every day because you don’t know what’s going to happen.

“I feel like having a positive mindset goes a long way both mentally and physically. I don’t want to waste any days being down. I know you are allowed to have down days but I just try to be happy and positive and hopeful.”

Carmen works a 7/7 roster at Hail Creek mine and lives in Brisbane. Pictures: Supplied

She still works a seven-on/seven-off roster at Hail Creek and said her employer and workmates were incredibly supportive.

“I’ve started alternative treatments as well to do alongside this treatment so I’m hopeful that they will help as well.”

She had also found two integrative oncologists – one on the Gold Coast and one in Mexico with specific intense treatments that included diet, LED light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen chambers and hyperthermia as well as different medications – but the price ranges from $65,000 to $90,000.
Her loved ones have started a GoFundMe to help towards this cost and it has already raised just under $8000.

“I will continue with this targeted therapy for as long as they work,” she said, adding ideally she wanted to try the intensive treatments because her only option after the targeted tablets was clinical trials, of which she had been told there was only one available in Australia.

A photo of Carmen on a recent trip to Greece. Pictures: Supplied

And she was still making plans, including a possible return trip to Europe in 2026.

Her message for others: “Don’t ignore your body even if you feel healthy, keep up with regular checks and trust your gut if something feels off.

“Don’t put things off, whether it’s your health, time with people you love or doing what makes you happy.

“And if you’re going through something hard, know that your mindset matters, so staying hopeful and surrounding yourself with support and taking things one step at the time can make all the difference.”

Originally published as Carmen Keogh’s powerful message as she battles stage 4 cancer from mole