Grovedale’s Tracy Hargreaves ‘lucky to be alive’ after melanoma battle

A Grovedale woman, who was vigilant when spending time in the sun, was shocked when she was diagnosed with melanoma.

Tracy Hargreaves is now cancer-free after a melanoma battle. Picture: Brad Fleet

Tracy Hargreaves is “lucky to be alive” after a scan on her injured shoulder revealed a shocking skin cancer diagnosis.

The Grovedale women did her best to be sunsmart growing up after losing her mum to melanoma in 1985, aged 49.

“I was 22 when mum died and since then, I had been very vigilant,” Ms Hargreaves said.

But in 2017, she had a spot cut out of her arm, which was later diagnosed as melanoma.

“No one thought it was melanoma,” the now-62-year-old said.

“It wasn’t like a mole that had changed or become worse.”

She underwent a sentinel lymph node biopsy, which determines if the cancer has spread, and her results came back clear.

About two years later, Ms Hargreaves noticed a lump beneath her elbow but doctors weren’t concerned about it.

“Then four months later, I hurt my shoulder and an MRI scan showed the melanoma had spread through my arm and lymph nodes,” she said.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t picked up.”

Ms Hargreaves said she was shocked to receive the news.

“I knew my melanoma could come back but I was pretty confident it couldn’t,” she said.

“But I felt really lucky that I found it because otherwise I would never have known.”

Ms Hargreaves had a number of tumors, which were later diagnosed as melanoma, surgically removed and she underwent 12 months of immunotherapy at the Epworth in Geelong.

“I’m now four years cancer free,” she said.

“I feel I’m so lucky to have treatment because my mum couldn’t.”

Ms Hargreaves said she was grateful to her medical team and support network for helping her during her cancer battle and thanked the researchers finding new treatments for patients.

Tracy Hargreaves with her dog Hope. Picture: Brad Fleet

Her message to those who still glamorise tanning and lay out in the sun was simply: “Don’t do it”.

“Vitamin D is very important … and we do need the sun,” she said.

“But we need to think about when we are out in the sun and how long we’re in it for.

“I go outside first thing in the morning and at the end of the day when the UV isn’t as harsh.”

Melanoma Institute of Australia (MIA) will host its Melanoma March this weekend, which raises money for skin cancer research.

The event will be held at the Fyansford Paper Mill, 100 Lower Paper Mills Rd, Fyansford on Sunday March 3.

Originally published as Grovedale’s Tracy Hargreaves ‘lucky to be alive’ after melanoma battle