“I had this mole on my stomach and one day I noticed its appearance had changed. I went to my GP and he said it was most likely a skin tag that had appeared next to the mole. A few months later however, its appearance had changed once again. It had become redder in colour with patches of dry skin.”

Leona went back to her GP and asked for the mole to be removed. “I had other moles that were removed and sent off to be tested, the results had always come back fine. A few weeks passed by, normally I got a text from my doctor saying ‘results all clear’ but this time the message I received said ‘please call the surgery to make an appointment to speak to the doctor.’"

"My heart dropped. I rang the surgery straight away, my doctor was on holiday at the time and wouldn’t be back for a few days. I thought I couldn’t wait, I was so worried at that point. I asked to see the doctor who was filling in. I knew it was something, but I just hoped for the best.”

Leona was diagnosed with stage two melanoma skin cancer. “I remember when the doctor told me, I sat there and sobbed. I have two young kids and straight away thought about them. I had to make an appointment with the plastic surgeon, it was a few weeks wait for the appointment, it felt like an eternity. I would find myself looking at my family and thinking how much time had I left with them? Had the cancer spread?”

Leona had a wide incision and a sentinel node biopsy. Following this she got a call from her doctor to let her know they had removed everything and she was given the all clear.

Leona recalls her reaction on hearing the news. “I cried with relief, I just felt so lucky. It is two years on now and every now and then I have a little cry and I think about what could have happened if things weren’t caught on time. I sometimes worry it will come back, I have checkups now with the plastic surgeon and he looks at all my other moles."

Leona has learnt a lot from her experience. “It is a lovely sunny day today, before my diagnosis I would have had my lounger out and be laying in the sun. I rarely got burnt and I tanned well, so I didn’t think I was in too much danger. In my late teens and early twenties, I would have also used sun beds.

"Now I just don’t care about a tan, I liked having one, but ultimately it is temporary and it doesn’t mean much for my life. I would rather be here for my children’s future and be healthy and safe.”