NEED TO KNOW
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(305x231:307x233):format(webp)/jane-murray-was-diagnosed-with-skin-cancer-after-waiting-four-years-to-get-a-mole-checked-out-051225-5-b984ca9b1a714160a6f192ea14b2e4fc.jpg)
- Jane Murray, 46, says she ignored a mole on her arm that looked normal, and only sought medical care when a nurse friend shared her concerns
- The Dublin mom was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma, and needed to have glands in her arms removed to ensure the cancer hadn’t spread
- A former “sun worshipper,” Murray was left with 77 stitches in her arm, but has been told by doctors there’s no evidence of cancer left
A woman who ignored a “normal” mole on her arm ended up with 77 stitches to remove what was actually stage 2 melanoma — the deadliest type of skin cancer.
Dublin mom Jane Murray, a self-professed “sun worshipper,” says she ignored a mole on her arm because she thought it looked “normal,” according to The Daily Mail. But in November 2024, a nurse friend shared her concerns about the mole, prompting the 46-year-old mom of one to see her doctor about the mark on her skin.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(555x0:557x2):format(webp)/jane-murray-was-diagnosed-with-skin-cancer-after-waiting-four-years-to-get-a-mole-checked-out-051225-3-bc2b6960d1a8474d8255aef909fd3469.jpg)
“The doctor said they didn’t know what it was, but they were going to send me to the hospital to remove it to be on the safe side,” Murray said, according to the outlet. She had it removed on December 3 — but was then asked to return for further treatment.
“When she started telling me the diagnosis I didn’t think she was talking to me,” Murray, a personal trainer says; She was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma, which VeryWell Health explains is “the most dangerous” form of skin cancer that can “spread quickly to other organs if not detected early enough.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/teddi-mellencamp-cancer-journey-split-040225-d3148fb992294f2db0750e75dd51f699.jpg)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/skin-exam-tout-050624-5afe965f2bbb41e5ad8ccd2d8448f457.jpg)
“Early treatment is essential,” the outlet says. “If melanoma is found and treatment begins when it is confined to the primary tumor on the skin, the five-year survival rate is excellent, at 99.6%. But if it has spread to distant parts of the body (metastasized), the survival rates drop to around 35.1%.”
In Murray’s case, she had to have some glands removed from her arm — and needed 77 stitches following the surgery to close the wound.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(694x0:696x2):format(webp)/jane-murray-was-diagnosed-with-skin-cancer-after-waiting-four-years-to-get-a-mole-checked-out-051225-1-3c664bf37a0b40a690e47da0052eae3a.jpg)
“This is a whole big chunk of my arm. I woke up to a completely different outcome than what I had imagined,” Murray said.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The personal trainer says she regrets her time in the sun, admitting, “I was a sun worshipper. I would sit in the sun, morning to night on my holidays.” While she says she wore sunscreen, “Whenever I had a free moment, I’d be outside in the garden.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(769x0:771x2):format(webp)/jane-murray-was-diagnosed-with-skin-cancer-after-waiting-four-years-to-get-a-mole-checked-out-051225-4-bb0818ea69a645199a7cd525105bd0f7.jpg)
But as she points out, “A sun tan is gone two weeks after you get home from holiday.” It’s not “worth it.”
