When the sun is shining, everyone knows to slather their skin in sun cream. But for David Bateson, he has become a cautionary example of how skin cancer can attack parts of the body you might not expect – like the scalp. The 48-year-old father-of-three always had a magnificent head of thick, dark locks so hadn’t considered that skin cancer could develop among his hair. So, when he discovered a small bleeding lump on the top of his crown, he thought nothing of it. “I thought I had just knocked my head and it was a scab,” he explains. “It was the size of a bubble wrap bubble and there was no pain. But it just wouldn’t heal. My wife, Lisa, is a nurse so she soon packed me off to the doctors to get it checked out. I was given some steroid cream, initially, that cleaned it up after a week. But when I went back, the doctor said, ‘I’m not so sure. I’ll get you to see a specialist.’” A biopsy was taken for testing and David later received a call while in the middle of a work meeting where his doctor asked to meet him. Assuming the call was to arrange a time to meet, David’s heart sank when his doctor told him he needed to see with him immediately. “I wasn’t feeling worried up until that point,” the railway worker recalls. “When they said, ‘Get yourself here’, I guess I knew it was skin cancer. But then you start thinking, ‘What type is it?’ I knew the one that you don’t want is melanoma. And unfortunately, it was. I was obviously very anxious on that journey back. The nightmare started then.” Cancer Research UK has found that Melanoma is the UK’s most rapidly increasing type of cancer, with around 17,500 new cases every year - and that 2,341 people die each year from the disease. While UK Charity Melanoma Focus warns that melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer - but that 86% of melanoma skin cancer cases are preventable. David was diagnosed with melanoma in December 2019. He was operated on to have the cancerous lesion on his crown removed – as well as the surrounding area of skin to remove the cancer completely. He underwent a skin graft from his leg to replace the skin cut from his head. And doctors also removed a number of lymph nodes from his neck to check if the cancer had spread. Fortunately, the surgery appeared to work. However, eight months later, David found a lump in his neck that sparked concerns. “I think around September or August 2020 I noticed one of my lymph nodes in my neck was like a frozen pea and didn’t go down. That meant it was fighting something,” he recalls. “I had an ultrasound and I was chatting to the (sonographer), and asked what we were looking for. He said, ‘If the lymph node is black in the middle of the scan, then generally that’s going to be cancerous.’ We were both looking at the screen and you could see a football-like shape. I looked in the middle and thought, ‘S**t, it’s black.’ I said, ‘It’s not great, is it?’ And he said, ‘No. It’s not great. But let’s get inside there and take some out and get them tested.’” Further testing found that the cancer had returned and spread to David’s lymphatic system. He underwent aggressive surgery to remove part of the lymphatic system in his neck, followed by debilitating rounds of radiotherapy that made it difficult to swallow. The brutal treatments were effective in removing the cancer and he was once again given the all clear. But a further eight months later, a routine three-month scan showed startling evidence that the cancer had returned and spread to his liver, lungs and spine. “I thought that was me done,” he admits. “The odds weren’t great. But they had the immunotherapy drug that was out and being used on different people with melanoma. What this treatment does is, it takes the brakes off your immune system and allows your body to spot and fight cancer cells. Melanoma is one of the first cancers where this drug was effective. It doesn’t work on every cancer. I think my doctor said there was a 50/50 chance of having a reaction to the drug, and even less of a chance of getting a full remission. But it was about living with cancer. There was never talk of it curing me.” For his immunotherapy treatments, David went to hospital where a combination of immune system boosting drugs were added to his bloodstream through intravenous, with each four-week session lasting between one to two hours. As the cancer had spread to his spine, he also endured further radiotherapy. Miraculously, the immunotherapy worked better than predicted and, in January this year, David was finally told he was cancer free. He is now looking forward to a healthy future with his wife and their three children: sons George, 22, Jack, 19, and 17-year-old daughter Grace. Reflecting on his treatment, David said, “I was living around scan results. I wasn’t worrying too much about the future. I was about creating memories with my family and that was beautiful. Knowing that you have a limited lifespan and knowing that every day matters.” Last year David raised £50,000 for Addenbrooke's Hospital where he underwent treatment. And for those who have a new fear unlocked of developing skin cancer on the scalp, David has some key advice. “If you can put sun cream on your crown, then brilliant,” he advises. “But if you’re sitting around the pool, or even just going to the shops, protect your scalp as much as possible and stick a bloody hat on.” Melanoma Focus has a free and confidential helpline for anyone with questions about melanoma: 0808 801 0777 Featuring: David Bateson Where: United Kingdom When: 02 Aug 2024 Credit: David Bateson/Cover Images **EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. 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