March against melanoma and 'glamorous' perception of tanning

The Dubbo high school teacher and mum-of-four spent her twenties in and out of hospital for life-changing Stage III melanoma after being first diagnosed in 2010.

"When I go to the beach I see people laying on the beach. I want to say 'cover up', 'be careful', and you want to tell people what you've been through," Ms Coyle told the Daily Liberal.

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"I want to say, 'this can happen to anyone - and it's happened to me'."

Ms Coyle is calling on central west residents to join the Melanoma Institute of Australia's 2023 Melanoma March campaign to support the psychological health of Australians living with advanced cancer, and to help tackle the country's tanning culture.

Ms Coyle's melanoma began with a mole on the back of her left calf. Back then, there was "nothing" in Dubbo in terms of treatment so she travelled to Sydney - tackling isolation on top of the toll on her mental wellbeing.

"I didn't know anyone else who had been diagnosed [with melanoma]. Because I was 23, all my other friends were doing things that 23-year-olds do and I couldn't do that. My life was put on hold," she said.

During one surgery, she had to stay in hospital in Sydney for five days and she wasn't allowed to move from her bed. She had developed lymphodema and recovery was painful and prolonged.

"I was in another city, and my parents were the only ones who travelled to see me. I had no contact with anyone else for days and days and I found that isolating," she said.

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Ms Coyle wants to spread awareness of the importance of yearly skin checks, and she also wants to help tackle the 'glamorisation' of tanning in advertisements, social media and media - both from the sun and from lotions.

"I'm hoping the image has changed from one on the tanning bed. Now, we're trying to tackle the focus away from self-tanning with lotions. They're not even glamorous. Be the skin you're in - that's OK. We don't need to change the appearance of what skin looks like - because that's potentially harmful," she said.

Ms Doyle's eldest child is seven and she reinforces the sun-smart message at every opportunity. She said when the time came, she would steer them away from suntanning and lotion-tanning.

"I get bothered by people when they [suntan]. The frustration. Why are they doing this?" she said.

Every year when Ms Doyle has her skin checked, she is afraid of melanoma recurring.

"There's always a chance that a new one could pop up, and that [fear] reignites every time I have a scan or a blood test or a new freckle or mole turns up. I think, my goodness, this could happen again. It always sticks with you," she said.

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The institute aims to raise $1 million through this year's Melanoma March for Australia's first clinical trial aimed to treat fear of cancer recurrence experienced by those with advanced disease.

The trial will focus on identifying and supporting advanced melanoma patients experiencing fear and anxiety about their melanoma recurring or progressing - and the findings will also benefit other cancer patients.

Dubbo resident Toni McMillan, who together with her husband owns the local Colour Copy Shop, lives in fear that her melanoma will reoccur. She was diagnosed with Stage III melanoma in 2007, then Stage IV three times - in 2016, 2017 and 2021.

In 2007 when she was first diagnosed, there was no cure. Then, when she was diagnosed again in 2016 and 2017, she wasn't eligible for immunotherapy.

Ms McMillan travelled repeatedly to Sydney for treatment and clinical trials during these times and it was only since her last diagnosis in 2021 that she has been able to receive immunotherapy treatment in Dubbo at the Western Cancer Centre.

When asked what she thought when she saw people suntanning, she said: "Obviously tanning is dangerous. We all need to change our mindset about tanning and our body image."

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Ms McMillan supports the institute's clinical trial and said counselling would be "really beneficial to people who are going on that journey".

"When you go [for treatment], you do a questionnaire, they take blood, you're not counselled - they just treat your symptoms and the disease," she said.

The Dubbo Melanoma March will be held on Saturday, March 25 at River Foreshore on Tubba-Gah Country from 8.30am to 11am. Register to fundraise or donate to the cause at dubbo.melanomamarch.org.au

Stickers that read 'Stop glamourising tanning' will be available for participants to wear on the day.