'Months to live': Melanoma patient inspires others despite dire prognosis
Emma Betts was just 22 when a stranger alerted her to an unusual looking mole that, on further examination, would see her given just three months to live.
Fast forward to 2017 and the 25 year old is not only still alive but has married her best friend, bought a house, started a successful business and raised more than $100,000 for the Melanoma Institute.
She has been given an updated, dire prognosis but continues to strive to build awareness of the dangers of sun exposure.
Three years ago the Brisbane woman was diagnosed with stage four Metastatic Melanoma but a clinical trial helped her defy all expectations and prompted the creation of her incredibly successful blog, Dear Melanoma, to create awareness of the importance of sun safety.
Not short of early career success, Ms Betts was an established international aid and development worker prior to her terminal diagnosis.
“I was 22 years old and had already explored and worked in some of the most isolated places in the world and with the most exciting future ahead of me, to a 22 year old stripped of all my hopes and dreams and left to face my mortality,” she wrote on her blog.
"It can happen to you, it happened to me.”
Rather than preparing for the end, her clinical trial allowed Ms Betts to not only marry boyfriend, Serge, but also provide care packages for other care sufferers through her business.
"I have dedicated the last 2 years of my life to changing people’s perspective and won’t stop, I need your help. I need you to have conversations. I need you to listen. I need you to change your perspective,” she added.
Tragically, the incredible life she and her husband made has taken an unfortunate turn, revealing the heartbreaking news that she now only has “two to three months to live”.
“I mentioned on social media that things were worse. On Friday I sat down and had the very honest conversation with my oncologist that I needed to have,” she wrote
“I told you that she thought 6 months was optimistic, but I hadn’t asked her what that meant. On Friday I was told that 2 to 3 months is what we are looking at based on what is happening at the moment and my body’s reaction.
“I am scared and upset. I feel things are happening too fast.”
The sun care advocate is holding on to hope that her clinical trial may help her overcome the heartbreaking timeframe doctors gave her but insists she will continue to maintain her business to educate readers about skin care.
"I went to an all girls school and there was definitely a common misconception that a tan is healthy and it makes you look better, but you can get that look from a bottle without risking your health,” Ms Betts previously told the Daily Mail.
"I think people around my age don't think melanoma is very serious - and it can avoid being fatal if you catch it early. My main message is that a tan is not a desirable thing."
