I’m a mum-of-three and I was diagnosed with melanoma despite doing ‘everything right’ – here’s the biggest mistake I made

A mother of three who received a terrifying diagnosis of skin cancer has revealed the one mistake she made before discovering a suspicious mole on her back.

Amelia Liddy Sudburyfrom the Sunshine Coast, was getting dressed in front of the mirror one morning in April this year when her daughter let out a cry of disgust.

The eight-year-old had noticed a significant birthmark on Amelia’s back and immediately questioned her mother about it.

Amelia, admitting she hadn’t had a skin check in three years, picked up a handheld mirror and held it up behind her back for a closer look.

What she saw immediately set alarm bells ringing.

“I live on the Sunshine Coast – I know what melanoma looks like,” she told FEMAIL.

“As soon as I saw my back, I knew I had to see a skin cancer specialist. It wasn’t a mole at all, it just looked awful and wrong.’

Having almost died along with her unborn baby when she contracted listeria in 2018 and barely survived a bout of ulcerative colitis, Amelia couldn’t believe her life was about to change so drastically again.

“I was so exhausted and angry that I just couldn’t do it anymore,” she said.

She made an appointment at SunDoctors skin care clinic, which specializes in diagnosing and treating melanoma.

“I thought I was doing everything right,” she said. “I covered up, I wore a hat, I slathered myself with sunscreen — but I hadn’t had a check in years.”

Amelia said that after being chronically ill for more than a decade, she felt she was finally free.

“It just goes to show that nothing is guaranteed. I was always one of those people who thought skin cancer wouldn’t happen to me,” she said.

“Like Listeria, I thought I was safe because it only happened to other people. But after nearly losing my son and my own life, I wanted to have a few years where nothing bad happened.

“I really went through the wringer. I was daydreaming about the day I wasn’t sick anymore.’

Amelia’s first appointment revealed that the melanoma was located on her spine and that while it was treatable, it would be a difficult journey to good health.

“It was unbelievable – the doctor took one look at my back and knew right away that he had to cut it out,” the mother said.

“I was sent to an operating room and fifteen minutes later I got stitches on the inside of my spine.

“Within 48 hours we had results, but my whole family spent that time with our hearts in our mouths. It was a ticking time bomb.

“There were too many hospitals for all of us, and we couldn’t do it anymore. I didn’t know what to do with myself when they told us it was cancer.’

Amelia was then sent for a second surgery so doctors could determine how deep the cancer cells had invaded.

“They cut me really deep and I had about ten stitches in my lower back. Luckily it was just a melanoma in situ, so it hadn’t spread to other parts of my body yet.”

The mother did not have to undergo chemotherapy, but now comes back every three months for a thorough skin check.

“Even though the melanoma wasn’t as bad as it could have been, I think I’m chronically unlucky. My stitches burst a few days after I came home from the hospital and there was blood everywhere, my bedroom looked like a horror movie,” she said.

Amelia still has minor mobility issues from the years of chronic illness and her surgery, but is on the mend.

“The whole process — especially the surgery — was extremely painful and stressful, but I didn’t want to scare anyone about not getting regular checkups, so I couldn’t admit that,” she said.

“At first I was terrified of what it meant, but I’m much more diligent about protecting from the sun and getting regular checkups with a dermatologist.

“My attitude really got in the way of having it before, but the pain was well worth it, and anxiety should never get in the way of a skin check.”