Judy Bailey opens up about her husband Chris’ shock melanoma diagnosis

“He wants you to come into the surgery and bring Jude." It was the “and bring Jude" bit that had us worried.

The man I married is fair-skinned. He burns. Chris also has a lot of moles on his body. We’ve been vigilant about the sun and having regular skin checks, especially after a melanoma in situ was discovered on his calf nearly 20 years ago.

A melanoma in situ is an early stage melanoma… it still sits in the top layer of skin, the epidermis. Mere mention of the word “melanoma" has been enough to cause my stomach to turn itself into knots. I know how dangerous it is, how it doesn’t distinguish between young and old, fit or otherwise.