First and foremost I am a 43 year old husband and father of two daughters. For the last 20 years I have been a school teacher and am currently the Principal at Holy Spirit School in Lavington, Albury. Unfortunately, for myself and my young family, we have begun a journey that has changed our lives forever. It's a journey that I share with others in the hope that they don't have to experience it themselves.

My melanoma journey...

In late October 2016 I discovered a nasty lump on my right thigh, within weeks I was diagnosed with Stage III Metastatic Melanoma. By the end of 2016 I had the melanoma and the lymph nodes in my groin surgically removed. In November 2017, I became Stage IV, as it had spread further into the lymph nodes up inside my hip. Upon this further diagnosis I underwent a 2 year clinical immunotherapy trial at the Albury Wodonga Cancer Clinic & Peter McCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne which concluded in November 2019. The immunotherapy has been successful to this stage, containing the spread of this insidious disease. I still undergo 3 monthly scans to ensure there has been no spread.

In this time since my initial diagnosis, I have completed a 5km ocean swim on the East Coast of my native Tasmania, raising over $13 000 for the Peter McCallum Clinic. In May 2019 year I walked 250 km over 6 days on the Longest Melanoma March, raising over $8000 for the Melanoma Institute Australia.

My genuine passion is raising awareness in the community and especially in schools. I have had the opportunity to speak to numerous school groups in Tasmania and most recently across the Riverina about Melanoma Awareness. If each of these presentations has an impact on just one student I have fulfilled my passion.

While completing the Melanoma March in 2019 , I was fortunate to meet an incredible woman by the name of Annette St Clair, the mother of Amie, who set up a trust in her daughters name.