Luke Thomas was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2013 at the age of 27. It was a stage one melanoma and it was cut out and removed. But, five years later, it returned.
The, in 2019, Luke was told he had just two years to live. That time a biopsy of the mole concerned showed that it had spread to his lymphatic system. He was diagnosed with stage four metastatic melanoma.
At the time he was given immunotherapy and put on a targeted treatment that could extend his life by around 18 months. That was three years ago and, though the word "remission" is not often used in people with incurable cancer like Luke, he had no evidence of the disease for three years.
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In that time Luke, now 37, has walked the coast of Wales and raised more than £60,000 for Melanoma Focus while doing so. He also bought and renovated a home in Kidwelly, which was named Wales' Home of the Year in 2022.
On November 1, just days before he was set to jet off on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to the Maldives, Luke suffered a seizure while on a walk in central London. "I got rushed to hospital and it turned out I have seven brain tumours in my brain. They are relatively small at the moment so that is where I am at. The brain is quite a tricky place to treat so I am waiting at the moment to know the outcome.
"Unfortunately it gets a little bureaucratic now because it's got to my brain so secondary cancer from melanoma and treatment and funding is not guaranteed so it does have to go to a panel and they have to see what extent the disease has spread so I've had a PET scan. Me and my consultant are hoping that my treatment is still working within my body. Obviously it is not great that it has gone to my brain but, if it is isolated, it might be something they can treat. So at the moment there's still a lot of questions and I'm waiting for answers."
Luke is now in a situation where he is looking to raise funds to explore other treatment that might not be available on the NHS. He hopes that any funds he can get will enable him to explore treatment elsewhere in order to prolong his life and spend as much time as possible with the ones he loves. You can make a donation here.
"I feel generally quite well at the moment – that's why the seizure came as such a surprise. But I know this thing can be quite aggressive and the prognosis can be quite poor but I'm still quite optimistic and still holding on to hope."
He is sharing his story to emphasise the dangers of melanoma. If caught early enough it can be cured but when it becomes metastatic – as it had in Luke's case – it becomes harder to treat. Luke urged anyone who is concerned about a change in their skin or to a mole to go to their doctor as soon as possible.
"I definitely feel quite positive and optimistic about everything – I think that's the best way to be," he said. "And I think I wanted to share the whole journey and experience of this and obviously raising awareness is so key. Prevention is very important for melanoma and I want to share my story for that reason.
"I think also sharing my journey helps me as well because people are so supportive and also other people go through their own cancer journey and say: 'It's really helping me'. And you've got to share the good and the ugly at the end of the day because that's what it is."
What are the signs and symptoms of melanoma?
According to the NHS the main symptoms of melanoma skin cancer are:
- Mole with an uneven shape or edges
- Mole with a mix of colours
- Large mole
- Mole that changes over time
You should see a GP if:
you have a mole that's changed size, shape, or colour
you have a mole that's painful or itchy
you have a mole that's inflamed, bleeding, or crusty
you have a new or unusual mark on your skin that has not gone away after a few weeks
you have a dark area under a nail that has not been caused by an injury
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