Cover Story: Ellen's skin cancer story

Ellen Orr has had treatment for skin cancer. Photo/George Novak.

This month, Melanoma New Zealand is kicking off its Melanoma March National Appeal with a call to check your skin. Its goal is to get Kiwis, who have the highest melanoma rates in the world, to be proactive in looking out for the early signs of this deadly skin cancer. Pip Crombie meets one woman who wants to share her story to motivate others to be proactive with skin checks.

With A busy, fulfilling life, two adult children, a grand-daughter and her own business which she has run for many years, being diagnosed with melanoma in 2008 was a major blow to local Tauranga woman Ellen Orr.

Sharing her story is something Ellen is more than happy to do, in the hope it will encourage people to protect themselves from the sun and remain vigilant about checking their skin.

Ellen was first alerted to a change in her skin when she noticed a lump on her head, which was uncomfortable when she pushed her sunglasses up.

Her GP diagnosed it as a sebaceous cyst, telling her she could have it removed if she wanted to.

It continued to annoy her and grew larger, so she finally had it removed by a specialist who also told her it was a cyst. But post-surgery, not all of the lump had been removed, which alarmed the specialist.

At this point, Ellen was referred to a cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon, Adam Bialostocki. What followed was a whirlwind of full-body scans and a sentinel node biopsy.

Mr Bialostocki informed Ellen of the seriousness of her cancer. It was a Level 5 melanoma and if she did not have it removed, her prognosis was a grim six months to live.

"There really was no other option to consider and because speed was imperative, I used private healthcare, as I didn't know what the wait would be otherwise.

I had the first surgery to my scalp, followed by two more surgeries to remove satellite sites, also on my scalp. This was followed by weeks of daily intensity-modulated radiation therapy in Hamilton."

Ellen chose to travel to and from Hamilton each day for treatment, preferring to sleep in the comfort of her own bed. Since then she has had a small melanoma removed from her shoulder and several other skin metastases, but the good news was, the cancer had not spread internally.

"This was a cancer with a bad prognosis, but by jumping on it hard and being surgically aggressive, we've managed to get a good outcome," said Mr Bialostocki.

By her own admission, Ellen spent a lot of time in the sun, particularly during her younger years.

As a child and teenager, I burnt easily and I can recall two occasions when my back was blistered after sitting out in the sun, so I have no doubt this is what caused it.

Ellen Orr

However, she has a suspicion her grandmother was a victim of ocular melanoma, though this was not confirmed.

The impact on Ellen has been huge. Because of the surgeries to her scalp, she has to wear a wig for the rest of her life. The scars can become uncomfortable under the wig, and this sometimes affects what she does socially.

She has ear problems as a side effect of the radiotherapy and the emotional scars and fear of a recurrence of the cancer are never far from her thoughts. This is something that is not easy for her, or her family, to live with.

"I see my GP on a regular basis and every six months, he does a full-body check. If he picks up anything abnormal, he will refer me straight to Mr Bialostocki. It's always at the back of my mind and I jump on any changes [to my] skin and the doctors investigate immediately."

Mr Adam Bialostocki, reconstructive and cosmetic plastic surgeon. Photo/supplied

Melanoma is indiscriminate in whom it affects, and with the frightening rates in the Bay of Plenty, the likelihood of being associated with it is high. The Bay of Plenty has particularly high rates of this type of skin cancer, with more than 25 people dying from it each year, according to the latest figures from the Cancer Society.