Jane Murray, 46, thought a mole on her arm was nothing to worry about—just a normal spot she’d ignored for years. It wasn’t until a close friend, who’s a nurse, voiced serious concerns that Jane decided to get it checked.
The Dublin mom’s visit to the doctor led to a shocking diagnosis: stage 2 melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer. As a former “sun worshipper,” Jane faced a tough battle ahead. She underwent surgery that left her with 77 stitches and required removal of lymph nodes from her arm to make sure the cancer hadn’t spread.
Thankfully, after this intense fight, doctors have now confirmed that there’s no trace of cancer left.
Jane’s story is a powerful reminder that even moles that seem “normal” should never be ignored—early detection can save lives.
“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,” Jane Murray recalled. The mole was excised on December 3, but what followed was far more serious — she was called back for additional treatment after the initial procedure.
“When she started telling me the diagnosis, I honestly didn’t believe it was 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 aggressive cancer “can spread rapidly to other organs if not caught early.”
Early intervention is critical. As reported, if melanoma is detected and treated while still confined to the skin, the five-year survival rate is an impressive 99.6%. But once it spreads to distant parts of the body, survival rates plummet to just 35.1%.
For Jane, the battle meant more than just removing the mole. She had to undergo surgery to remove lymph nodes from her arm, leaving her with 77 stitches to close the wound — a stark reminder of the seriousness of this disease.
“This is a huge part of my arm they had to remove. I woke up to a reality I never expected,” Jane Murray shared, reflecting on the life-changing surgery.
The personal trainer openly regrets her past sun habits. “I was a total sun worshipper,” she admitted. “On holidays, I’d bake outside from morning till night.” Although she did wear sunscreen, Jane confesses, “Whenever I had a free moment, I was outside in the garden soaking up the sun.”
But now, she’s clear about the hard lesson she’s learned: “A suntan fades away just two weeks after you get home. It’s simply not worth the risk.”
