Jane Murray, 46, thought a mole on her arm was nothing to worry about—just a harmless spot she had ignored for years. But when a close nurse friend expressed concern, she decided to get it checked. What started as a routine glance revealed a shocking diagnosis: stage 2 melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer.
This Dublin mother, once a devoted “sun worshipper,” faced a tough battle ahead. To stop the cancer from spreading, surgeons had to remove lymph nodes from her arm, leaving her with an astonishing 77 stitches. Despite the daunting ordeal, Jane has been given hopeful news—her doctors have found no trace of cancer left.
Her story is a powerful reminder that even moles that look “normal” should never be overlooked.
“The doctor told me they weren’t sure what it was but wanted to be cautious and sent me to the hospital to have it removed,” Murray recalled. On December 3, the mole was taken out—but her ordeal was far from over. She was soon called back for further treatment.
“When she started telling me the diagnosis, I honestly didn’t think she was talking about me,” said Murray, a personal trainer. She was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer. According to VeryWell Health, this type “can spread quickly to other organs if not detected early enough.”
“Early treatment is absolutely critical,” experts warn. If melanoma is caught and treated while still confined to the original tumor, the five-year survival rate is an impressive 99.6%. But once it spreads to distant parts of the body, survival rates plunge to around 35.1%.
In Jane’s case, the cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes in her arm, which required surgical removal. The operation left her with 77 stitches to close the wound — a physical reminder of the battle she fought to survive.
“This is a huge chunk of my arm gone. I woke up to a reality I never could have imagined,” Murray said, her voice tinged with disbelief.
The personal trainer openly regrets her years spent chasing the sun. “I was a total sun worshipper. On holidays, I’d lie out from morning until night,” she admitted. Though she says she did use sunscreen, “Any chance I got, I’d be outside in the garden soaking up the rays.”
Now, she’s clear about the cost of those carefree days. “A suntan fades within two weeks of getting home. It’s just not worth it.”
