Mandurah goes sun-smart

He had just turned 22 when he woke up on a Monday morning after playing a football game on the weekend to find he had a golf ball size lump on the side of his neck.

It wasn’t until 10 days later, when he got the lump removed, that he was told he had a secondary melanoma. 

According to the doctors, Mr Heal could have had a primary melanoma for three to four years before it broke down to his body’s surface in the shape of a secondary melanoma. 

“I had three or for years where I potentially if I had been getting my skin checked I would have been able to get onto it a lot earlier, and had less problems,” he said.

“My understanding of melanoma and skin cancer was that it’s something that happens to people later on in life, I didn’t understand that it could happen so young.”

The doctors told Mr Heal he had a 10 per cent chance of living two years, however, life proved otherwise and he committed his life to raising awareness among the population about skin cancer prevention as the chief of Melanoma WA.

“Mandurah boasts and enviable lifestyle of sun and surf, but it’s important for people to make education decisions when it comes to sun safety,” Mr Heal said.

Melanomas are the most common form of cancer for 15 to 30 year-olds in Australia, and can be associated with an outdoor lifestyle. 

The City of Mandurah has moved one step closer in promoting a sun-smart lifestyle with the installation of two new shade shelters at Avalon Beach.

After carrying out community consultation, the City found out local residents didn’t feel the existing shades matched the history and aesthetics of the Falcon area.

Local input by the residents was taken into account in the new design that combines wood and aluminium. 

The initiative sits within the City’s Health and Wellbeing Plan, that seeks to create shade spots and help to prevent skin cancer.

Mayor Marina Vergone said the new shades proved the City’s commitment to the plan.

“Our local beaches are some of Mandurah’s most beautiful assets, and these new shades give people the chance to enjoy the lifestyle they love while being safe in the sun,” she said.

Mr Heal said that it was up to the people to be sun-smart, but the shades where there for those who wished to be so.

“I see the new shade structures at Avalon Beach as a wonderful opportunity for locals and visitors to enjoy some of the best beach on Earth while making an educated choice that they won’t leave the beach with skin damage,” he said. 

The old shelters at Avalon Beach have been relocated to Keith Holmes Reserve, near Mandurah’s Ocean Marina.