Like too many Australians, Nick’s life has been impacted by melanoma in more ways than one: his father passed away from melanoma in 2014, his mother has had a melanoma removed, and in 2021, at the age of 31, he himself was diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma – just eight years after his father’s death.

Nick’s journey began with an in-situ melanoma being cut out of his neck in 2017 after his brother noticed a mark on his neck. In 2022, merely a week after Nick was engaged, a persistent cough led to an x-ray which found two secondary melanomas in his lungs, meaning he had Stage IV melanoma.

“This was really frightening, especially after witnessing what my dad went through.”

“I grew up in the country, and my parents were always strict on ‘slip, slop, slap’, so I was always quite sun safe. But I did work outdoors when I was a young adult and have a history of melanoma on both sides of my family. Unfortunately, sometimes that’s all it takes.”

Within four months of his immunotherapy treatment, Nick’s scans were all clear. Two years on, Nick has no evidence of disease and has quarterly check-ups to ensure he remains this way.

Now inspired to give back and to save others the heartache he’s been through, Nick has joined MIA’s Speakers’ Hub where he hopes to encourage fellow Australians to know the skin they’re in and to act quickly if they notice something change.