Kevin's Skin Cancer Story

In December 2023, Kevin Roden, aged 63 from Drogheda, Co. Louth went to the doctor to get a black spot on his calf checked out. “It had been there for a few months anyway, I couldn’t say for how long. I had noticed it and then my wife, Ann, noticed it and she was at me to go my GP. By December 2023, I suppose I gave in to the pressure and I went. I’m so grateful for my wife’s insistence.”

Kevin’s doctor removed the black spot on his calf. “It was trickier than he expected so he sent it off for further analysis. By the January, I was referred to oncology in Drogheda, but then I got a phone call to come into Beaumont for surgery to remove the affected area. The skin cancer had travelled from my calf to my sentinel lymph node around my groin area. The surgery I underwent removed around half of my calf muscle and then the lymph node around my groin too.”

His diagnosis came as a huge surprise. “I suppose, I had always been quite health conscious – my father died in 2012 from prostate cancer. From that point, I would have been very conscious about regular check ups and PSA tests. But this black spot on my calf, I can’t really tell you why, but I wasn’t as proactive as I should have been. After I got the news of my diagnosis, I wanted to tell those people closest to me and I wanted to use my cancer as an opportunity to tell people to look after themselves. I played a bit of football and GAA and through my local business in Drogheda, I’d know people around the area. I told my closest circle about my diagnosis and said to them 'please go and get anything niggling checked out, because if I could happen to me, it might happen to you’.

“Off the back of that, my younger brother who had been experiencing a stomach issue went to his doctor and he ended up having colon surgery after they discovered bowel cancer. Had I not had my experience, maybe he wouldn’t have been as proactive and his cancer would’ve been caught much later. It’s just so important we keep an eye on changes in our body and we get things checked for peace of mind.”

Following his surgery, Kevin was contacted in February 2024 about participating in a cancer trial. “Dr. Jaruska Naidoo in Beaumont phoned me to invite me to join a trial – I would go on immunotherapy for a year. When it was explained to me that my survival chances and quality of life after cancer would be increased by joining the trial, I said ‘sign me up’. There was also going to be the monitoring over the duration of the trial, that was very appealing as well that you would have this additional supervision while going through your treatment. This involved me filling out a questionnaire, outlining any side effects I was experiencing and then the medical team worked me to support me through the side effects. Some of the side effects I would have experienced included a dry mouth, a bit of swelling in my joints particularly my knees and shoulders and then my appetite had fallen off. The medical team were brilliant to help me manage all of those. In general, I can’t thank my medical team enough for all their support throughout my journey – they were brilliant with me.”

For years, Kevin has supported his local Daffodil Day committee in Drogheda. “There’s an amazing group of ladies in Drogheda who organise an annual fashion show for Daffodil Day each year and over the years, I’ve given them a hand. My wife got me involved in helping out. I wouldn’t be strutting the catwalk myself now, but I would be a spare pair of hands, setting up the room and helping out on the day. It’s incredible to think that I was supporting that fundraising initiative not knowing that I myself would one day be diagnosed and end up on a cancer trial. Investment in cancer research is so important and it gives patients like me access to new and innovative treatments. The Irish Cancer Society invests €1m every year in Cancer Trials Ireland, supporting them to deliver clinical trials. Without people’s support on days like Daffodil Day, that investment in cancer research isn’t possible.”

Kevin is sharing his story to raise awareness of skin cancer and to encourage people who are eligible to participate in cancer trials. “In my particular case, I have my wife to thank for giving me the push I needed to check out this black spot on my calf. When it comes to skin cancer, most of us have our fair Irish skin which can be damaged more easily by the sun. We need to take precaution, wear sunscreen or cover up our skin. People like myself, outdoors and playing sport most of their life, and out working in the sun, we’re more at risk and need to take extra precaution. If you notice a change in your skin and it persists, please get it checked out. I’m delighted that my own cancer journey has meant that people I know are now more aware of cancer in general. I’ve had conversations, deeper conversations, with friends and colleagues than I have ever had before because we’re discussing something as important as our health. If my story can help just one person to take extra precautions or get something checked out, then it is worth me sharing. 

“I’d also really encourage anybody who is asked or is eligible to put their hand up and take part in a clinical trial. The more people who take part, the more new and innovative treatments we can eventually make available to more patients.”