'I thought the mole on my back was rucksack rash – the truth was something more sinister'

'I thought the mole on my back was rucksack rash – the truth was something more sinister' Kate Howson, 32, noticed a suspicious mole change on her back and assumed it was irritation from her rucksack – but doctors confirmed she was wrong Kate Howson said the thought an itchy red patch on her back was a rash caused by carrying a rucksack on holiday, but the Brit would later find out it was a life-changing discovery. The 32-year-old and her partner Rhys had been invited to two weddings abroad, one in New Zealand in February 2024 and another at the end of February in Thailand. The couple, from Cardiff, decided to take sabbatical from work and go travelling to coincide with both weddings. While away, Kate noticed an itch in the middle of her back where a mole was. When she asked her partner to take a look, he said the surrounding area appeared red. Kate said: "It was exactly where my rucksack was sitting and as we'd been traveling for a month or so I assumed it was where it had been rubbing against my skin. We took a photo and sent it to my sister-in-law, who's a doctor, to see what she thought. She said it was best I got it checked as soon we came home." After returning home in March, Kate looked in the mirror and noticed the area had grown darker and appeared to have changed shape. She took a new phot to compare alongside the original image, ready to show her GP, according to WalesOnline. The doctor referred her to the dermatology department at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, where specialists warned her there was a strong likelihood the growth was cancerous. The mole was removed that same day, and it was subsequently confirmed to be a melanoma. Kate was then referred for a procedure known as a sentinel lymph node biopsy, which involves injecting dye into the site of the original mole to track its movement and identify the most likely path the cancer may have followed. Kate said: "They scanned me to see the most likely route the cancer might have taken if it had spread and in my case it had gone to my groin. "I then had an operation to remove those lymph nodes and when the results came back from the biopsy it showed that it had gone from a stage two to a stage three – it had metastasised." Kate received those results just before Christmas 2025. She was then referred to Velindre to explore her treatment options. Her oncologist initially suggested immunotherapy, but Kate carried the BRAF mutation - which causes melanoma cells to produce a protein that stimulates cell growth - so specialists decided targeted cancer drugs were the best course. Sadly, these tablets can carry a number of unwanted side effects. Kate said: "The potential or unknown impact on my fertility with these drugs was one of the side effects I was most concerned with as Rhys and I had talked about starting a family so we discussed this with my oncologist before starting treatment and we were offered one round of IVF before starting treatment. "It was at this point we found out that my egg reserves were abnormally low – they only managed to harvest three eggs." With time being critical, Kate and Rhys chose to fund a second round of IVF at a fertility clinic before she embarked on her melanoma treatment, this time opting for embryo freezing. Sadly, doctors again retrieved only a handful of eggs, none of which fertilised. Kate said: "One thing you don't think about when faced with a cancer diagnosis is your own fertility and this hadn't really crossed my mind until going through the treatment plan. Rhys and I had talked about both wanting to have children before this diagnosis and coming from big families we took it for granted that one day we would. Suddenly finding out I had low fertility at this point felt like another huge blow." Having exhausted their IVF options, the couple felt they had no choice but to put this chapter of their lives on hold for the following year, as Kate began her treatment in April. Throughout this period, Kate was offered counselling through one of Tenovus Cancer Care's support services. Kate said: "I have never had any therapy myself up to this point so was a little apprehensive as to whether it may work for me. But I wear my heart on my sleeve in life so it didn't take long for me to open up and share feelings with Sam who put me at ease right away. If it had just been the cancer diagnosis I thought I would be okay and that we could get through this." Kate revealed that what pushed her to breaking point was discovering the situation regarding her fertility. The 32-year-old added: "The hard and unexpected journey we had to take in getting these rounds of IVF before me starting treatment, and for them not to have worked, is heartbreaking. "Talking to Sam, who's one of the counsellors with Tenovus Cancer Care, has helped me get these thoughts out of my head and open up the conversations I need to have right now." As a research partnership manager in the research team at Social Care Wales, Kate's position involves linking practitioners with academics and developing the storytelling framework. She said: "It's through my own work that I can see the impact of other people's stories and the power that they have. This is one of the reasons I was keen to share my own story." Rhian Jones, senior support line nurse at Tenovus Cancer Care, said: "People are more likely to head outside when the UV index is moderate or high (UV index three and above), which means that's when the sun is strong enough to damage skin. If you notice any changes in your skin go to your GP as soon as possible. Lots of GPs are now able to send a photo to a specialist dermatologist, which can make diagnosis (and any subsequent treatment) much quicker." Any alterations to moles should be examined by a doctor. The ABCDE guide is a straightforward way to recall some of the most typical warning signs to watch for. Kate and Rhys continue to travel and plan trips away in their campervan whenever they can. Kate added: "For me I could never have imagined going through this at age 32 and the subsequent challenges we've faced in relation to fertility. Of course this has made me more vigilant about my own sun safety. "It means I am more in tune with the moles on my body and I would say don't be afraid to get them regularly checked, especially if you think they've changed, and take pictures so that you can track any changes. Being outdoors and exploring new places is something that I love doing but I just have to be a little bit more careful when doing so now."