‘My skin cancer was 0.1mm away from spreading around my body' says Kent survivor
Dr Stefano Biagini went to the doctors with what he thought was a sore spot on his back, however, it turned out to be malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.
A Kent cancer survivor has told us his disease was 0.1mm away from spreading around his body.
Dr Stefano Biagini went to the doctors with what he thought was a sore spot on his back, however, it turned out to be malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.
The 56 year old, from Whitstable, was then told the disease was 0.1mm away from spreading around his body.
Dr Biagini, who has red hair, grew up in Italy and was exposed to a lot of sun as a child., he said: "My mum did her best to protect me, making me sit under sun umbrellas and wear hats, but there wasn’t the same awareness of sun damage or the kind of sun creams there are now, so I’m sure a lot of damage was done then.
“So, getting skin cancer wasn’t entirely unexpected. I’d seen other people go through critical illnesses and I just resigned myself to the fact that it was my turn. It made me commit to not wasting whatever life I still had in front of me.”
He underwent a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, which proved more painful and difficult to recover from than he imagined and then surgeons cut away the cancerous area on his back, he didn't need chemotherapy.
Stefano has now been cancer free for just over two years and later this month (March) he is taking part in Swimathon to raise money for Cancer Research UK, the end of life charity Marie Curie and Swimathon Foundation.
He said: “My experience means I understand why events like Swimathon are crucial to help fund the work of charities like Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie that rely on our support.”
“A Swimathon is a fun and simple way to get swimming. It doesn’t matter if you’re not the fittest or the fastest. I hope swimmers, young and old, grab their costumes to help thousands of people across the UK.”