Janet Wood’s compelling narrative underscores the critical importance of heeding health warnings, especially from loved ones, in the proactive fight against serious illnesses like skin cancer. Her deeply personal journey illustrates how a seemingly innocuous concern, a mole on her back, ultimately became a matter of life and death, directly influenced by the tragic experience of her late stepson, Lea.

Despite initial encouragement from her husband Steve in 2018 to have a suspicious mole examined, Janet, a former detention officer residing in Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, remained resistant. She described the mark as a “red blister” that was firm to the touch, and saw no immediate necessity to consult her general practitioner.

It was Lea, her stepson, who observed the mole with greater scrutiny and conveyed his significant concerns to his father. Janet, however, confidently dismissed his worries, asserting that her mole bore no resemblance to Lea’s own cutaneous issues, leading her to believe there was no genuine cause for alarm or professional medical evaluation.

Tragically, Lea himself was concurrently battling an aggressive form of skin cancer. He had sought emergency medical attention for a weeping mole on his chest. Despite undergoing various immunotherapy treatments, the malignancy proved relentlessly progressive, ultimately metastasizing to his brain.

His condition unfortunately deteriorated, with the cancerous growth expanding significantly. In January 2019, Lea, a dedicated father from Sutton Coldfield, succumbed to the disease, leaving behind a profound legacy that would indelibly impact his stepmother’s future and serve as a testament to the importance of early detection.

Janet vividly recalls Lea’s prophetic words after her own diagnosis: “Don’t worry, they will have caught yours in time.” This poignant statement solidified her conviction that Lea, even in his absence, had been instrumental in saving her life, acting as a powerful, albeit indirect, catalyst for her to seek crucial medical advice and undergo mole checks.

Her personal ordeal has transformed Janet into a fervent advocate for stringent sun safety practices and the vigilant health awareness required for identifying skin abnormalities. She passionately stresses the vital need for everyone to regularly inspect their skin, adopt protective measures such as seeking shade, ensuring adequate clothing, and consistently applying sunscreen to mitigate risks.

Reflecting on her earlier years, Janet acknowledges a prevailing lack of public melanoma awareness regarding sun exposure risks, admitting to frequent sunbathing and instances of sunburn. Her current mission is to prevent others from encountering similar health crises by actively promoting greater cancer prevention education and encouraging proactive mole checks as an integral component of routine health awareness strategies.