Damage was 'done in my youth': Tauranga woman diagnosed with skin cancer - 4 times

Simone Donaldson has had skin cancers cut out of her neck, arm and nose. Photo / Mead Norton

In the past 11 years, Simone Donaldson has had four skin cancers cut out of her body - two from her neck and one each from her arm and nose.

The 49-year-old says the damage was done in her early years, where she recalls burning "like a lobster" during summer, blistering and peeling.

As a teacher, she also spends a lot of time outdoors with her students.

"If you forget a hat and you don't have sunscreen ... you're in for a burn."

As her cancers were caught early, Donaldson survived them. She gets yearly mole maps, which she describes as a "yearly warrant of fitness".

"Thankfully they have picked up over time when freckles have started to turn into something more insidious."

Simone Donaldson has had skin cancers cut out of her neck, arm and nose. Photo / Mead Norton

Donaldson shares her story as Tauranga-based skin cancer clinic company - Skinspots - joins MoleMap to help reduce wait times for skin cancer treatment.

Skin cancer is New Zealand's most common cancer, with an estimated 90,000 non-melanoma skin lesions diagnosed each year. New Zealand and Australia have the world's highest rates of melanoma. In New Zealand each year, 4000 new cases are diagnosed and more than 350 people die.

There were 519 registered cases of melanoma cases between 2018 and 2020 in Te Whatu Ora - Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty, formerly the Bay of Plenty District Health Board.

Pāpāmoa College's Donaldson was first diagnosed with skin cancer when she was 38 after her mother noticed a freckle on her neck had changed.

Her doctor checked it with a punch biopsy - where they punched a circle in the freckle and sent it off. The result said it needed to be excised.

When she was diagnosed, she "felt sick".

"You just don't know what's going to happen in your future ... or how much of a future you might have.

"That was kind of scary because ... even though my behaviour as an adult is to regularly wear sunscreen, the damage had already been done in my youth, and it's just starting to come out now."

As a teacher, Simone Donaldson encourages her students to wear sunscreen and put on hats before going outside. Photo / Mead Norton

Donaldson recalled summertime in her younger years when she would "burn like a lobster".

"I'd get blisters, I'd peel and I'd go back to white again, so I never really got a tan.

"Most of the damage was really done in those early years."

Two years after her first diagnosis, Donaldson had another skin cancer removed from her neck. Six years after that, she was diagnosed with Stage 0 melanoma on her arm, which was operated on and left a "mighty scar".

Last month, Donaldson found out she had to have part of her nose cut off to remove another cancer.

"You're awake when it's happening ... you can smell the burning and see the blood."

On her nose operation, Donaldson said she was worried how it would affect its symmetry.

"And kids are brutal - so you know that when you have something funky going on with your face, it's the first thing that they point out."

Except for the one melanoma, the other cancers were basal cell carcinomas, the most common form of skin cancer.

Simone Donaldson says everyone needs to take responsibility for taking care of their skin. Photo / Mead Norton

Donaldson said a yearly mole map was a "really important investment" to make sure the cancer was caught early enough to be survivable.

"I just view it as a yearly warrant of fitness to go and get that mole map done and make sure you're good to go."

Donaldson has had all her treatment through Skinspots, who did an "amazing job" with her nose. On Skinspots and Molemaps joining, she said: "I think it's going to save people's lives."

Skinspots founder and MoleMap chief medical officer New Zealand Dr Franz Strydom said Skinspots saw thousands of skin cancers per year and had "really good outcomes" for patients.

But New Zealand still had one of the worst mortality rates for skin cancer in the world, particularly melanoma, he said.

"There's very little funding and the majority of GPs still don't know how to accurately and early diagnose a melanoma ... they haven't got enough experience to do dermoscopy which is where you look through a special torch ... and you can see right into the skin."

Strydom was approached by MoleMap because it detected the cancers but it did not have an in-house treatment provider and referred patients to their GP.

From July 1, Skinspots joined MoleMap so its 21 doctors, nurses and support staff could work with MoleMap to provide treatment services.

Normally, the average wait time to see a dermatologist was "measured in months not weeks," he said.

The new service would cut wait times down: "We see people within a week or two."

"Everyone in Tauranga can get better treatment, earlier detection and good treatment earlier."

In a media statement, MoleMap chief executive Michelle Aquilina said the expansion was a "significant milestone" that would help meet patient demand.

"By integrating detection and treatment, we can extend our service from ongoing surveillance and teledermatology diagnosis through to treatment - effectively closing the loop on skin cancer prevention and streamlining the patient journey."

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Cancer Society health promotion co-ordinator Kate Mason. Photo / Talia Parker

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Cancer Society health promotion coordinator Kate Mason said early detection of skin cancer made "a huge difference" for effective treatment and survival from skin cancer, particularly melanoma.

"It's important people really get to know their skin and are aware of any changes. And if you notice changes, don't put it off – see your doctor."

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller, who has had skin cancer lesions removed and whose father had melanoma, said he welcomed the news of MoleMaps and Skinspots joining.

"Any new service that helps locals being able to access critical healthcare like the monitoring of your skin and then being able to have issues identified removed quickly is welcomed."