When Erin Higgins took a call while on shift at Cobram Regional Care one day in 2019, the last thing she expected was to be told a stage three melanoma was lodged in her neck. But as often happens, reality did not meet with expectation.
“You need to come in, the doctor wants to see you.”
Little did she know it at the time, but these words would precipitate a battle with melanoma that Erin is still fighting five years on.
Born and raised in Cobram, Erin — like many kids her age then – passed countless hours swimming with her friends in the Murray River.
Growing older, Erin later swam at the Cobram Public Pool and played netball.
In fact, she found herself outside for much of her youth.
“As a kid, that’s what you did,” Erin said.
“When you’re swimming … you’re in and out of the water.
“We have a very active family, we don’t sit inside.”
After moving away as a young professional, Erin found herself meandering back to her home town.
For at least six years, she sat on the committees of the Cobram Swimming Club and the Cobram Football Netball Club.
And then came the news that would irrevocably change the course of her life.
When Erin attended a scheduled doctor’s appointment in July 2019, her GP noticed a mark on her neck.
“I actually had come from work because it was a cancellation appointment,” she said.
“[The doctor] said, ‘what’s that on your neck?’”
Following a biopsy, the mark turned out to be a stage three melanoma.
“So I feel like I was very lucky that I had come from work and it [the collar of my work shirt] was low enough for him to see,” Erin said.
Her life soon became a roundabout of skin checks, immunotherapy treatment and GP visits.
“Everyone was devastated. It was a lot to deal with,” she said.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
In July last year, a scan for a boxing injury happened to pick up another nodule sitting on the top of her right lung.
A later CT scan revealed a further three nodules.
Months later, on January 9 this year, surgery removed the four nodules of melanoma from her lung.
The operation left her with no more than a quarter of her right lung remaining.
“Breathing was very hard,” Erin said.
“Now, if I walk into a room that’s too hot, I can’t catch my breath.”
Erin was unable to return to work until May.
Even now, completing even the most basic tasks is sometimes difficult.
“I fatigue very easily,” she said.
With at least 80 per cent of her right lung removed in the surgery, Erin says she still enjoys working part-time as second-in-charge of the kitchen at Cobram Regional Care.
“I’ve made some great friends here,” she said, the corners of her mouth folding into a smile.
“It’s a very rewarding job.”
However, outside her work, her life is still getting back on course.
“This is probably the least social I’ve been for my whole life,” she said.
For treatment, Erin commutes to Melbourne two or three times a month.
On top of this, she has brain MRI and PET scans every three months. She also regularly sees a physiotherapist to learn how to inflate her left lung as much as possible.
Erin believes there needs to be more awareness around melanoma — especially in river communities such as Cobram and Barooga.
“As a child, you’re out in the sun all the time. We’d always put sunscreen on, but we were out in the UV all the time,” she said.
“Melanoma doesn’t discriminate. It fooled me when I was diagnosed, and mine was just a chance.”
As anyone who has the pleasure of knowing her may be aware, Erin is not one to cede ground to any opponent — whether that’s on the court, in the pool or in a hospital bed.
Alongside close friend Julie Cameron, Erin organised the Melanoma March earlier this year.
“I was amazed,” Erin said, referring to the turnout at Kennedy Park in March.
“It was a powerful reminder that we’re not on this journey alone.”