It has been 16 years since Echuca local and Wamba Wemba woman Melissa Sheldon was first told she had skin cancer, which became a terminal diagnosis.
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A 29-year-old Ms Sheldon visited her GP about a growth in her navel, which was biopsied by a surgeon, who promptly called her back to the clinic.
She was diagnosed with stage four melanoma, and booked into the Peter MacCullum Cancer Centre in Melbourne the following day.
“When I first got diagnosed, I didn’t even know what melanoma was, let alone stage four,” Ms Sheldon said.
“At that point in time, and even now, there's no guaranteed cure with melanoma.”
The cancer was removed by a wide excision, but its central location increased the likelihood it would be systemic, spreading to other organs in Ms Sheldon’s body.
“Two years to the date, it came back in my lung ... and that’s when it was terminal,” Ms Sheldon said.
The diagnosis prompted Ms Sheldon to move to Melbourne to see Dr Grant McArthur at the cancer centre. There, the celebrated oncologist helped enrol her in novel treatments.
A genetic mutation was found in Ms Sheldon’s lungs, making her eligible for a phase one trial ― meaning the first time a potential treatment is used on humans ― for a combination therapy.
“I was very fortunate to be able to get on to that, and that actually gave me 14 months,” Ms Sheldon said.
“It was the best Christmas present you could ever get.”
Following the treatment, Dr McArthur hoped the lifeline Ms Sheldon was given would provide extra time for more new treatments to become available.
But at the 14-month mark, the cancer hit her blood-brain barrier.
At that time, a visit by Ms Sheldon and her family to another cancer radiologist helped to reframe the sombre news.
“He said, ‘We’ll treat this like it’s chronic, not terminal’, and that mindset was just amazing,” she said.
“I can’t tell you how much that helped my family, in thinking that way.”
Treatment involved whole brain radiation, and receiving Pembrolizumab infusions, one of two immunotherapy drugs Ms Sheldon has since successfully advocated for to be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
While life-saving, the treatment carried significant side effects, landing Ms Sheldon in the emergency room, and in palliative care twice.
The second time, her body was essentially paralysed, leading to a loss of movement in her left side that required rehabilitation for her to walk and talk again.
A physiotherapist told Ms Sheldon it would take her three months to relearn how to walk, a feat she instead achieved in three weeks.
All told, Ms Sheldon has made it through three different treatment trials, which she has since learned carried a survival chance of about one per cent.
Being surrounded by a supportive medical team and family, and focusing solely on her recovery, including by pre-planning her funeral, was integral to her endurance.
“We were just pushing the boundaries. We didn’t know what would or wouldn’t work,” Ms Sheldon said.
“I always had, for me, a survival attitude. I just would keep going. I never really took into account the negatives.
“I’m so fortunate. I don’t know how I got through that one per cent.”
Although not currently being treated for melanoma, she is still living with cancer, but is eyeing off a two-year milestone that would see her enter an official survival stage.
Meanwhile, Ms Sheldon has been working with various organisations, including the Melanoma Skin Cancer Advocacy Network, using her voice to advocate for changes.
She attended the MSCAN National Skin Cancer Scorecard launch at Parliament House on Wednesday, November 26, a project she said had made a tangible difference to those with skin cancer.
Despite being largely preventable, skin cancer remains the most common cancer in Australia.
With one in four Australians having never checked their skin, and six in 10 delaying getting suspicious spots checked, Ms Sheldon sees work to be done on skin cancer attitudes nationally.
“Just go get checked. It doesn’t take that much time, and it can give you peace of mind,” she said.
“And it’s all types of skin cancer. It doesn’t have to be melanoma. People don’t realise other types of skin cancer can be fatal.”
She continues to co-chair MSCAN’s community action team, and is the lived experience leader at the VCCC Alliance.
For information on early skin cancer detection, visit mscan.org.au/learning-hub/skin-cancer/early-detection/