Tamsin's Story - Skin Cancer Appeal

Tamsin is a Melanoma Patient at Leeds Cancer Centre

I’ve always had lots of moles, and I’ve always made sure I wear sunscreen and kept an eye on them. But then I noticed a mole on
my right arm had changed, so I got it checked out just to be safe.

I never expected to have an operation to remove it on that very same day, that’s when I knew something wasn’t right.

But it took weeks and weeks to get my biopsy results back. Night after night, I’d lay in bed wondering "do I have cancer?" "am I going to die?" and then I’d wake up thinking it was all a dream. It was constantly on my mind; the wait was agonising.

And then I finally got the news I’d been dreading, It was cancer, and I had to go into hospital for another biospy to check if it had spread to my lymph nodes. More weeks of waiting followed, before I finally found out it was Stage 3 cancer, and even worse it had spread to the lymph nodes under my arm pit.

I’m a single mum of three, I work hard to provide for my family and after a long shift at work I spend the evenings caring for my elderly parents. They need me.

I didn’t let my family know how bad it was for a while. I’m supposed to be the mum, the daughter, it’s my job to look after them, not the other way around. But when I was on my own, sometimes I would break down and cry. I was surrounded by loved ones, but I felt so alone, no one truly understood how I was feeling. I stayed strong for everyone around me, but inside I was terrified.

Every few months, for the rest of my life, I have to go back into hospital for a check-up. And every time I walk into the clinic, I’m hit with a wave of anxiety that my cancer might have spread.

Even though I had an operation to remove some of my lymph nodes, because they found my cancer after it spread, there’s a high risk that it will come back one day.

Your donation will help fund a new ultrasound scanner making it as quick and easy as possible for melanoma patients like me to be checked at follow up appointments.

Donate to our Skin Cancer Appeal today