Monica and her partner Dave’s lives have been impacted significantly since Monica was first diagnosed with stage four melanoma in April 2020.
After undergoing multiple surgeries, radiation therapy and immunotherapy, Monica now lives with the effects of lymphoedema in her right leg. Lymphoedema is chronic swelling caused by build-up of lymph fluids, which can occur after cancer treatment to the lymph nodes.
But now that Monica has been cancer free for over three years, she wants to raise awareness about both sun safety and lymphoedema. As she puts it, “If I could just make one person aware of it, I’d be happy”.
The beginning of Monica’s skin cancer journey
Monica has lots of little moles so, one evening, she asked Dave to look over them for her. He found one that “didn’t look good” and Monica found particularly itchy.
Monica did the right thing and made an appointment with her doctor. After running some tests, her doctor told her that it was cancerous and stage four. Monica remembers feeling overwhelmed, but she pushed herself to get on with things.
She had surgery to remove the melanoma, two more surgeries to remove lymph nodes in her right leg that had been affected by cancer, then went through radiation therapy and immunotherapy.
“All of this happened at Westmead Hospital. I had an amazing medical team,” Monica says.
Staying strong to get through treatment
Monica’s doctors told her to rest while going through treatment, but she found this easier said than done. She says, “I’m not used to being sick or bedridden. And I know that if I was weak, my husband and kids wouldn’t be able to cope”.
So, Monica continued working in disabled care. On days when she worked at Parramatta Park, she’d walk over to Westmead Hospital for radiation therapy, then go straight back to work. She didn’t want to go home and be on her own.
“Mentally, cancer treatment drains you. I didn’t stop. Some days, I was in hospital alone and I’d just cry. But in the end, I think it was my hope and determination that helped me recover”, Monica reflects.
Monica’s message to others about skin cancer
Monica now wants to raise awareness about skin cancer. As an Aboriginal woman, she’s particularly keen to get the message through to other Aboriginal people.
“Cancer doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter your skin colour”, she says, “I would like to see more Aboriginal people pay attention to skin cancer messaging, before they get it”.
To really drive the message home, Monica often shows people photos of the surgeries she’s been through.
She also models sun safe behaviour to her granddaughter and clients, always wearing a hat, long sleeved clothing and sunscreen.
Life after treatment, living with lymphoedema
Monica also wants to share her experience with lymphoedema as another reason to encourage others to take sun safety seriously.
She says, “a lot of people think you can just get skin cancer cut out, then it’s gone. But it’s not always like that”.
The lymphoedema affects Monica’s day-to-day life. It has reduced the mobility in her right leg. And she now has to wear specialty compression garments for the rest of her life to help manage the swelling, which are expensive and need to be replaced every few months.
She now also uses a pump to drain her lymphatic system every day, sees an occupational therapist every six weeks, and gets lymphoedema massages from time to time when she wants to treat herself.
“I’m hoping to lose some weight, which will hopefully ease my symptoms”, Monica says.
Monica has now connected with Cancer Council NSW’s cancer specialists who are helping her connect with local lymphoedema support services and the Cancer Council Online Community.
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