Mel’s story: Support through sarcoma diagnosis 

In 2007, Melanie ‘Mel’ Dale felt pain shooting down her left leg which she thought was sciatica. Just days later, Mel was diagnosed with a sarcoma in her left hip at age 35. 

Since then, Mel has had a challenging experience with cancer.  

During this time, Mel came across Relay for Life for the first time — she never would have expected that this would become one of her most important support systems.  

With the help of her friends from Relay for Life and her family, Mel is continuing to take every day ‘one step at a time’. 

Mel’s experience with cancer 

Only two weeks after her diagnosis, Mel had surgery to remove the cancerous tumour followed by a staggering 41 radiotherapy treatments.  

After returning to see her doctor for a check-up two years later, another tumour was found during a scan. Luckily, it was benign, and a simple surgery could remove it. 

Mel’s family history of lynch syndrome means she has an increased risk of cancer. Her father died from cancer and her brother recovered from a bowel cancer diagnosis, which is why Mel needs to have routine colonoscopies. 

In 2021, Mel woke up from one of those routine colonoscopies to discover that they had found a tumour. Surgery alone wasn’t enough to remove the cancer, so Mel had to go through six months of chemotherapy. 

Not only did Mel have to deal with the range of side effects brought on by chemo, but she also had to deal with the challenges of the pandemic. The COVID restrictions in place meant that Mel’s husband couldn’t be by her side during her chemotherapy. 

Even though he wasn’t allowed inside the hospital, Mel says “he’d be outside reading the paper and I could see him out of the window, and he’d wave. Or he’d go have a coffee. Either way, I’d just know he was in the building.”   

Leaning on support networks 

Throughout Mel’s treatment, she found support in both friends and family. Mel’s husband and her mother were helping with everything – from cleaning and washing, to cooking and preparing food, to helping her shower. 

Although the loss independence can be frustrating during chemotherapy, Mel stresses that “you have to do your best to let others help you when you need it.”   

“You might get angry but try and be kind to your support network because they’re trying to help you”, adds Mel. 

Mel’s friends from the Relay for Life committee were another great source of support during her treatment. Mel remembers the first time she saw Relay for Life around 12 years ago. She went to visit just for the morning, then returned that same night. A year later, Mel had her own team. Then the following year, Mel was part of the Relay for Life Committee. 

“They’re like family”, says Mel. “We call it our family.” 

Looking back, Mel remembers “they helped me and my husband. Dropped in to help, dropping off food and stuff like that.” 

“I lost a lot of independence. But you need to let your loved ones help you.” 

One step at a time 

In 2023, Mel had a liver cancer scare. After two colonoscopies, two gastric biopsies and one liver biopsy, it was found that it wasn’t cancer, but non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver.  

Mel is now learning how to manage living with cirrhosis, and although she is “a bit over it”, she understands the importance of keeping on top of scans and check-ups. 

“My message is that, if doctors tell you to continue scanning, just do it – don’t avoid it”, says Mel.   

Thinking about her cancer experience, Mel’s advice to others is to “celebrate the small wins and take one day at a time”. Mel has carried this idea with her throughout her entire experience with cancer – she even has a tattoo that says, ‘one day at a time’. 

If you, or anyone you know has any questions about cancer and our cancer support services, visit our support page or call us on 13 11 20.  

If you want to learn more about the topics in this article, visit our pages about bowel cancer.

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