Emma Ferguson, who was first diagnosed with melanoma when she was a teenager, is determined to educate young Australians on the severity of melanoma.

In 2012, at 14 years old, Emma was diagnosed with Stage III melanoma. Emma had surgery combined with immunotherapy, with her subsequent scans showing no evidence of disease.

A decade later, at 24, Emma was diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma after discovering a lump on her back. While the lump was benign, she had a PET scan which discovered a cancerous spot in her lung. After surgery and 13 months of immunotherapy, Emma is now cancer free.

‘The biggest thing that I’ve realised is that even though it’s a serious cancer, people don’t fully grasp the severity of it. Early-stage melanomas are so common in Australia, and so many of us just assume that it’s a quick fix – that you can cut it out and everything will be fine. But that’s not always the case.’

Emma’s mission is to show people of all walks of life – young and old, no matter their complexion, and regardless of their current health status or history – that melanoma needs to be taken seriously: ‘If it can happen to me, it can happen to you’.

Passionate about spreading this life-saving messaging, Emma is keen to utilise the Speakers’ Hub platform and share her story.