Dad's urgent warning to never ignore strange moles after devastating diagnosis
A dad is warning others to get any strange moles checked out as soon as possible after being diagnosed with skin cancer.
When Matt Heywood’s wife noticed a pink mole on his back had changed colour in late 2020, they thought something might be up. The mole was previously pink and fleshy, but it had grown to the size of a 5p coin and turned brown.
Given the pandemic was raging at the time, seeing a doctor was not easy for Matt - who decided to wait until medical services became a little more normal again. In early 2021 the Buxton dad-of-two sent in a photo to his GP, who phoned him back in just hours.
After referral to a dermatologist, it took only one look before the expert knew it was melanoma - the most serious type of skin cancer. “It was in a blind spot for me and something I couldn’t really see unless I put myself in an awkward position. It was out of sight, out of mind,” Matt recalled.
Matt's mole turned brown and grew to the size of a 5p coin (Matt Heywood)“It wasn’t that I was turning a blind eye or being reckless, it was very much Covid and the pandemic. I had every intention of going to the doctor, but it was too hard. I’d ring the doctor and end up 16th in the queue. I never got through. I thought, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow,’ but you never do,” the kitchen designer told Manchester Evening News.
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Having been diagnosed with stage two skin cancer, Matt was relieved to be informed it was confined to the mole and the cancer could be removed. After the operation, doctors suggested Matt have an operation wherein dye is injected around the lesion, to see if the cancer had spread.
Sadly, the dad later learned the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes in his arm – and was now at stage three. “It was a difficult time going through the motions on your own,” Matt added. “You’re so traumatised by what you’ve been told.
“You’re bulletproof until you’re not. Getting told I had cancer in that room was a pivotal moment for me. I understood that these things can happen to anyone, they’re not just things you hear on the radio or on the news and you feel sympathetic to them. It can happen at home.”
Matt is now thankfully in remission after multiple operations (Matt Heywood)
Matt was given the shock diagnosis back in 2021 (Matt Heywood)Matt had an operation to remove skin from his armpit and he spent the next year having physio to learn how to use his arm again. Thankfully, the surgery was a success and the dad is in remission – now believing his skin cancer was caused by using sunbeds once a month for a year in his 20s.
“I had a rash that formed all over my chest and was told it could have been stress related,” he added. “I was told by a beautician at my local gym that based on my skin type, using sunbeds sparingly could help with the problem and condition me to the sun. That was complete bull**** and I learned that the hard way. I was told by a cancer hospital 15 years later that every time I went on a sunbed it was another nail in the coffin.”
Once he’d been given the all-clear, Matt was inspired to give back to The Christie Charity by completing the Spanish Three Peaks – a trek through three of Spain’s highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada National Park. From there, he decided to take on ‘The Christie Challenge’ to complete six different fundraising activities over the year, with each activity raising at least £60.
As part of this, Matt ran a half marathon and brought his 10-year-old daughter Lily with him, which struck a chord with her. “Lily was so absorbed with the energy of the whole event,” Matt said. “She loved every minute of it and asked me on the way home on the train, ‘Daddy, what can I do to help?’”
Matt has done multiple fundraising runs including a half marathon (Matt Heywood)
Matt and his daughter make an epic fundraising team - raising over £7,000 already (Matt Heywood)Lily signed up to do her own Christie Challenge combined with the ’60 for The Christie’, which is a fundraising initiative aimed at challenging young people to take part in an activity of their choice, involving the number 60. This unique challenge symbolises the average distance that a patient travels in the UK for cancer treatment.
It didn’t take long for Lily to come up with some incredible fundraising ideas - setting up her own fundraising targets of completing 60 miles of running, 60-miles biking, swimming 60 lengths, hiking 60 miles and climbing Mount Snowdon. Josh Hughff from, The Christie Charity, said: “Lily is an absolute star. We are so impressed with the fundraising challenges she has set herself.
“Her determination and commitment to support The Christie Charity is amazing. Lily has a tenacity and determination way beyond her years. We couldn’t be more thankful for the support from Lily and her dad Matt.” To date Lily and Matt have raised over £6K. To donate to their JustGiving page, visit the link by clicking here.
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