Diagnosed with melanoma after her husband noticed an unusual-looking mole, Wendy Molloy is sharing her story to encourage others to have their moles checked, early and often.
“I’m 49 years old and married to an inspirational husband, I’ve been blessed with gorgeous children, and I am a very proud Nana of my beautiful, spunky granddaughter. I’m a mother, a grandmother, a wife, an auntie, a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a friend, a colleague and so much more, and I have been diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer,” says Wendy.
“I never thought of the sun or being outside as dangerous. I knew about melanoma, but I didn’t think I would ever get skin cancer – I have no family history that I know of. We live in Southern New Zealand, which is known more for rain than sunshine, and when we do get a good day I, like everyone, enjoy being out and about. I wear hats, cover up and apply sunscreen but I have been sunburnt in the past.”
Wendy’s journey began in August 2020, when her husband noticed a ‘weird’ mole on her left shoulder, and suggested she book into MoleMap. “I had a Full Body MoleMap in September and following my appointment, I received a recommendation to come back in three months for a further check,” she says. “I went back in February 2021 and was advised to urgently remove the mole as it had changed. The Melanographer was fantastic – she rang me outside of business hours and said that she thought I should get it done straight away.”
Wendy’s GP removed the mole in a 10-minute procedure using a local anaesthetic. A week later, when she returned to have her stitches removed, the news wasn’t good. “My GP said, “I have results and the diagnosis is positive melanoma….” He then went on to describe what would happen next, but I never heard him — I went blank, barely digesting the news. My GP wrote a detailed email outlining everything so I could read everything later with my husband, which helped a lot.”
One surgery after another
Wendy was referred to a melanoma specialist team at the hospital and booked in for a wide local incision surgery. Unfortunately, following the wider incision, the biopsy showed more melanoma and she was urgently booked in for a second, even wider incision with the specialist team. “It felt like it was all happening fast, with a blur of appointments and surgeries,” she says.
“Following my surgeries, I received the all-clear for my back and I booked into a Dermatologist for regular check-ups. During one of these, I was recommended to remove a mole on my lower leg. Once removed, the biopsy showed another melanoma and I was urgently booked in for a wider incision and I have been booked in for lymph node scintigraphy mapping.”
“I’ve had 9 procedures now including further moles removed which I’m waiting to hear back about,” explains Wendy. “Each time I meet with my Melanoma team I learn a bit more and we discuss a range of things, like Breslow thickness, staging, margins, surgeries, scans, follow-up planning, sentinel node biopsy, scans, radiation treatments and five-year survival rates.”
Having a ‘map’ of your moles makes a difference
One of the things Wendy really appreciated was having a photographic record of her skin to refer to (standard with every Full Body MoleMap and MoleMap Skin Check+). “All of my specialists have used it to compare whether my moles have changed,” she says. Some people think a Full Body MoleMap is costly, but every single specialist has said that having that point of reference is invaluable – you can’t put a price on that.”
A positive outlook
My melanoma team is fairly positive that we have found this early,” says Wendy. “They believe the best plan is to remove the melanomas altogether and then I will be regularly monitored going forward. There is a risk of the melanoma returning or appearing elsewhere. Things have changed in my life and we are adjusting, and we will move forward once we know what the plan is.”
“This is just a part of my story, an ongoing story with more chapters to add,” she says. “I know I’ll be okay, my wound will heal and my scar will fade, but I will be forever checking my skin and I hope you do too! Fingers crossed always … be good to yourselves and take care out there.”
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