Melanoma: 'Doctors said my cancerous mole was fungus' - BBC

By the time it was spotted, the cancer had spread.

One of the major causes of skin cancer is a high UV index - experts recommend taking precautions for anything over level 3.

The next day I called my GP who referred me to a dermatologist.

After looking at my mole with a dermatoscope, the skin specialist told me three things: it didn't look unusual, I was too young to have skin cancer, and that it was almost impossible to get melanoma on the scalp, as the hair acts as a barrier to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

After a Christmas and new year of high anxiety, the results came in.

I had stage three malignant nodular melanoma - the most aggressive form of skin cancer.

After CT, MRI and PET scans, I soon learned the cancer had spread to a lymph node in my neck and that I needed a radical dissection - an invasive surgery to remove all of the lymph nodes and tissue in the left side of my neck.

I am currently undergoing a gruelling 12-month treatment plan of dabrafenib and trametinib - types of targeted cancer growth-blocker drugs - to prevent the melanoma from coming back.

The side-effects of the medication include nausea, vomiting, fever, severe fatigue and rashes - to name a few - but by taking it, there is a 75% chance my cancer won't return.

I am terrified of the cancer coming back and I'm angry it could have been spotted sooner.

As I keep saying, it's not just skin cancer and it can happen to anyone, anywhere - even on your scalp.

The skin is our biggest organ - please look after it?

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