From shame to strength | Anne Gately’s melanoma journey
Anne Gately
Anne Gately is a lifelong water-baby. Who wouldn’t be, growing up with the gorgeous Coogee beach on your doorstep? So it’s no surprise Anne could always be found lounging on the beach with her friends, striving to get that golden glow synonymous with Aussie culture.
“I had one particular girlfriend who was the fairest of us all, and she would bring a roll of alfoil… and she would lie on the alfoil and apply the baby oil.”
If you’re out in the sun 24/7 with very little sun protection, it’s inevitable you’re going to get a tanso Anne had never really considered herself fair-skinned. So her first melanoma diagnosis came as quite a blow.
“I was devastated, but to be honest I guess I wasn’t really shocked.”
The first diagnosis was from a mole on her back. But eight years later, a scan showed the cancer had spread throughout her entire skeleton- her bones were riddled with it.
A cancer diagnosis is a tumultuous emotional rollercoaster at the best of times, but the main emotion Anne remembers is the shame she felt. Seeing her scan lit up like a Christmas tree, her first thought was, “I’ve done this to myself”.
Confronting this shame and sharing her story was one of many challenges Anne faced, while battling the immense pain and fear of having skin cancer spread throughout her body
When Anne was diagnosed, it was basically a death sentence. The word used was “incurable”, with the prognosis set at just 12-24 months.
But when all seemed hopeless, Anne’s doctor told her about a new immunotherapy program. And after starting on the regime immediately, Anne’s progress was miraculous. Her pain reduced, she felt stronger than she had in months, and crucially, her tumours seemed to be melting away almost overnight.
Another great sign was that Anne’s eyelashes went white, the first stage of her developing vitiligo. She was thrilled- vitiligo was a common side effect that meant the treatment was working!
Just 97 days after Anne’s diagnosis, her scans were clear. That was in 2018, and she hasn’t needed treatment since then. No surgery, no chemo, nothing.
Now, Anne is using her experience to shift the narrative around sun safety and skin cancer.
“With melanoma, you never ever say that you’re cured, because it can keep coming back.”
Anne’s battle to survive melanoma was behind her, but her war on skin cancer was just beginning. When Anne went back to work in the advertising industry and found herself working on a campaign that glamorised tanning. She had a strong emotional response to it, how could she work on and approve an advertisement like this. Anne now had to rethink the entire trajectory of her life and began working on how to change the narrative around tanning
Anne knows she’s one of the lucky ones, and she wasn’t going to take it for granted. She decided to use her story for good. She went into marketing and advertising agencies and shared her personal experience by way of example, in the hopes they would shift their stance on sun safe messaging. Not an easy task and it will take time. But Anne hopes the narrative is already changing.
Anne want people to know what a lifetime of sun loving and tanning can do to your skin. But also that it doesn’t mean you have to give up the outdoors.
The ocean feeds Anne’s soul, she was never going to give it up. But she has started swimming early now, when the UV index is very low. Sun safe clothing and sunscreen are her essentials. Her new book ‘Sunburnt’ also tells her story, and focuses on the positive things everyone can do to protect themselves.
“If I can help make a difference, then that’s probably why I’m still here.” – Anne Gately
Watch Anne’s full story in Conquering Skin Cancer, in cinemas from November 20th.