Nikki Frost has had surgery for removal of skin cancer on her nose (right) and arm (below).
It’s not ‘just a freckle’
For the past four years Whakatāne Hospital
Support Services Coordinator Nikki Frost, has
had regular skin checks at Tauranga’s Skin
Centre. Sometimes a mole or freckle that didn’t
look quite right would be removed for checking,
but every time the results came back normal.
In April her biopsy results weren’t so good.
She shares story in the hope that it will prompt
others to get their skin checked.
I made an appointment with my dermatologist when I noticed two
spots that I didn’t like the look of. I had a dark small freckle/mole
on the inside of my arm and a tiny spot on my nose that was often
dry and occasionally bled when I washed my face.
I thought the spot on my nose looked like a Basal Cell Carcinoma
(BCC), so I was prepared for treatment. The dermatologist agreed.
She wasn’t too concerned with the appearance of the one on my
arm, as it was one colour, a tidy round shape and not raised. But
since it was new (it wasn’t there at my previous skin check), and
there wasn’t anything like it on the rest of my body, she decided
it remove it. Two biopsies were taken, one from my arm and one
from my nose and I went home, pleased I had done something
about my skin conce rns.
Three days later I got the call with the biopsy results. The spot
on my nose was a BCC, I’d need Mohs surgery. The biopsy on
my arm came back atypical, the sample was being further tested
for Melanoma. By the end of the week it was confirmed I had
Melanoma insitu (it hadn’t spread).
Eight days after I’d made that first appointment, I was back at the
clinic having a wider slice taken from the site of that spot on my
arm. The tissue removed was tested, thankfully the results this
time showed it was 100% clear.
A month later I was back at the clinic having Mohs surgery on my
nose. During surgery a second tumor was found. It hadn’t been
detected previously and wasn’t visible to the naked eye. While this
made the reconstruction of my nose a little more complicated, I am
extremely grateful that it was removed.
Having grown up in the sunny Eastern Bay, I’ve always been
aware of the risks of skin cancer from the sun. In my younger
years, I used sunbeds. Back then they were marketed as the ‘safe
alternative to our harsh New Zealand sun’. Little did we know!
I never thought that I would be dealing with Melanoma or skin cancer.
I now have to have six monthly skin checks. But there is a silver lining
to this cloud. My children, friends and family have seen first hand,
what damage the sun can do and are now more vigilant about using
sunscreen and taking care in the sun. I hope you do too.
Facts
• Melanoma is the most serious kind of skin cancer. New
Zealand has the highest incidence rate in the world.
• Melanoma accounts for nearly 80% of all skin cancer deaths.
• 13 people are diagnosed with melanoma in situ or invasive
melanoma in New Zealand every day.
• Bay of Plenty has one of the highest rates of melanoma in
the country.
www.melanoma.org.nz
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