LIFE
inspiration
STORIES OF HOPE AS TOLD BY CANCER SURVIVORS
TEXT SKYE LAVIS
Naniki Seboni shares her story of overcoming a malignant melanoma at 25
I
t was a lapse in judgment that had me believe that skin cancer was a disease exclusive to people with lighter skin tones. Never had I heard of a darker skin toned person getting skin cancer. For the better part of my childhood, I had the understanding that I had sensitive skin, though the cause of that sensitivity was unbeknownst to my parents and I. However, when I was outdoors playing, that sensitivity would rear it’s ugly head. As a kid in school I played a great deal of sports, from soccer to netball, swimming to athletics and more. My school bag was always full of water bottles, a cap, a bottle of sunblock and of course my boring books. My friends never understood why I carried sunblock. They jokingly said I just wanted to stay light skinned, but it was really because I burnt so quickly, 15 minutes was more than enough sun exposure for me! My skin and the sun had and still have a lovehate relationship. I made an effort to protect myself, but every so often I would get sunburnt. I wish someone had explained to me then that if you experience 4+ serve sunburns in childhood, you run the risk of getting skin cancer as an adult. I would’ve gone for check-ups back then, if I’d known. Come 2015, two weeks before my 25th birthday, I was diagnosed with Stage III malignant melanoma. My melanoma was found on the lateral side of my left leg, and what I thought was a beauty spot or mole, had ultimately grown four times
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the size and had an irregular shape. The mere sight of it made me uneasy. Two years earlier, I hit it against the coffee table and the searing pain crippled me for over 15 minutes. The blood on the carpet was outstanding for such a small mole! I screamed, yelled and cried in pain. Annoyed by the shame and pain the black mole brought me, I thought I could use a razor and cut the mole off. Ever heard of bad ideas? Well that was one of my worst bad ideas. After my selfsurgery, the mole doubled in size and looked like a huge fly on my leg! A regular hospital check-up two years on, turned my life upside-down, with my melanoma diagnosis. My immediate thoughts were death.
I was alone in the room with two doctors. I was making jokes, only because it was my best coping mechanism in the moment. I was extremely unnerved. What in the world did it mean to have skin cancer? I was facing my own mortality at such a young age. I thought that was it, I had to write a Will and I would be laid to rest one three years after my father’s passing. My mother would be left alone. To be honest, I can’t recall what my doctors said to me. My mind had checked out. I walked outside and called my partner. As soon as he arrived, I lost it. I curled up in a ball in the backseat of the car and cried my heart out. I couldn’t even drive myself home. So I left my car at the hospital. I had never been so frightened in my life. It turns out my doctors had said they could operate and remove the cancer. In the beginning I went in religiously for my check-ups; determined to get rid of the cancer. But my rational self, was overwhelmed by my overly dramatic self, which resulted in me boycotting my remaining follow-ups. I was too scared. I woke up, got dressed, hit the highway and halfway there I would turn and go home. I was afraid of the unknown. The doctors clearly said they could help me, but at that point all I could think of was the absolute worst. I found support and encouragement from the members of CANSA’s Champions of Hope Facebook Group for cancer Survivors & Caregivers,
