“This is what I went through and my story is truth. And truth be told, I’m just lucky to be here.” - Cassie, melanoma survivor.
Dja Dja Wurrung and Waywarru woman, Cassie, wears many hats – teaching everything from music and traditional Aboriginal medicines, to weaving, dance, bush tucker and wildlife conservation. So, when cancer became part of her life, she naturally integrated her experience into her lessons – raising awareness of sun safety and the repercussions of sun exposure.
“My cancer journey began in 2016 when I was doing dance and ceremony, I found that I had four lumps in both breasts, which I had removed. But my hardest hit came when I got diagnosed with melanoma inside my right nostril that was spreading to my eye,” she said.
Undergoing intense topical immunotherapy treatment, Cassie says it was an horrific initial six months.
“Coming out of that I thought, ‘geez I’ve got to get the word out that cancer doesn’t discriminate against skin colour.’”
Through her outdoor educational programs, Cassie has interacted with thousands of children and while they learn about Country, they’re also given a passionate message about sun safety.
“I say, ‘before we go out on Country, we’re going to put on sunscreen, we’re going to put on insect repellent, we’re going to put on hats,” she says. “So, making kids aware, but also showing them the visual scars that I still carry.”
Cassie says the kids are naturally curious and open to talking about her scars and what it means to be treated for cancer.
“I’ve had to have blood transfusions. I’ve had to have iron infusions. They’ve poked basically every place they could poke a stick at. It’s never ending, but if I can raise awareness of cancer and looking after your body and checking your skin, that’s what I’m going to do,” she said.
While Cassie wears many hats, the one she wears to shield her from the sun has become the most important. With more skin cancers and melanomas removed from her body, she knows a youth spent out in the sun unprotected has caught up with her, but her passion for protecting the next generation from the same fate is unwavering.