Adam Brown was just 33 years old when he was first diagnosed with stage four melanoma after his wife Kristy noticed a suspicious looking mole on his back.
A skin check followed by a biopsy resulted in a positive melanoma diagnosis, something that came as a bit of a shock for Brown who had undergone a skin check not long before.
“I had just had a skin check, so I wasn’t too worried, but after the diagnosis, things happened very quickly,” he said.
Having grown up around Shelly Beach and Bateau Bay, the beach was a huge part of his life.
“I was always at the beach, and I did apply sunscreen, but only once in the morning, which probably wasn’t enough for my lifestyle,” he said.
In 2013, the removal of lymph nodes showed the melanoma had spread. His condition remained stable but in November 2014 his wife noticed a small lump near scar tissue.
He went back to the Melanoma Institute Australia where it was confirmed the melanoma had returned and there was evidence tumours were growing on his lungs.
“Kristy was pregnant with our first baby, it was quite a stressful time,” Brown said.
“An immunotherapy trial would have been the best treatment for me but at that time it had not been approved in Australia.”
Just before he was about to undergo traditional treatment, his medical team got word the trial had been approved and Brown would be the first patient in Australia to undergo the therapy.
He started treatment which involved combining two different therapy drugs together.
He underwent the treatment every three weeks for two years.
“By the end of 2017 there was no evidence of any cancer, it was a miracle,” he said.
Unfortunately, in 2019 evidence of melanoma tumours were found on his brain.
“It was scary times,” he said.
Surgery was successful and he soon resumed drug treatment and there has been no diagnosis of the cancer since 2020.
“It’s been quite a journey with some scary and low points, but also lots of happy ones.
“It was a miracle treatment.”
He and wife Kristy say that thanks to the work of the Melanoma Institute Australia and their groundbreaking research, Brown is alive and thriving today.
The family, including Harry, 9, and Grace, 6, will all be taking part in this year’s Central Coast Melanoma March on March 3 at Saltwater Creek Reserve, Long Jetty, where hundreds of supporters, friends, sufferers, and loved ones left behind and those passionate about the cause will come together to walk and raise funds for the Melanoma Institute to continue their work so they can save more lives.
For more information and to register for the event visit https://centralcoast.melanomamarch.org.au/