Deborah Hutton, 58, reflects on life six months after her skin cancer surgery… and reveals why she’s partially ‘grateful’ for her diagnosis
Deborah Hutton underwent life saving surgery to remove two skin cancers from her face six months ago.
And on Thursday, the 58-year-old reflected on her life since her diagnosis – and revealed she’s somewhat ‘grateful’ for what happened after being inundated with responses from those who got checked because of her story.
Speaking to the Australian Women’s Weekly, she said: ‘I look back and go, wow. I’m so grateful for everything, even grateful I had skin cancer because I was able to tell my story and people reacted the way they did.
Brave: Deborah Hutton underwent potentially life-saving surgery to remove two skin cancers from her face back in May, and shared pictures of her scars to urge people to get checked
‘It was very touching and quite profound to see that people actually got the message and they went into action.’
Deborah added that she’s been ‘overwhelmed’ with photos and messages from people across the nation, who got their skin abnormalities professionally checked in the wake of her reveal.
She added: ‘I had no idea it was going to create such a reaction – but I’m really glad that it did.’
Earlier in the year, Deborah had shared an image of the her surgery scars around her nose as a reminder for everyone to get their skin checked.
Deborah, who is a Skin Cancer Foundation ambassador, said there was nothing visible around her nose area and that it was her dermatologist who first noticed the abnormality.
Recovered: Six months down the line, and Deborah’s scar is barely noticeable. Pictured at the AACTA Awards on Monday
She had had a basal cell carcinoma removed from the exact same spot on her face nine years earlier, and was stunned to discover it had returned.
She spoke to A Current Affair in July about her experience, saying at the time: ‘This is cancer. It’s cancer. I was just in shock, and I remember being told about it and I kind of just burst into tears.’
Calling it a ‘deeper and bigger operation’ than the one she required the first time around, Deborah said she ‘didn’t expect it’.
When the stitches came out, Deborah said she ‘cried’ from both the pain and after seeing how much of her face they’d had to cut out.
But she said she’s ‘not self-conscious’ about the scarring, knowing the skin cancer could have killed her.
Speaking out: Deborah spoke to A Current Affair in July about her experience, saying at the time ‘This is cancer. It’s cancer. I was just in shock, and I remember being told about it and I kind of just burst into tears’
Given how aggressive the cancer was, Deborah acknowledged that she was extremely lucky to have caught it when she did.
Like Deborah, Beard Season founder Jimmy Niggles is also urging people to get their skin checked.
The pair announced a day earlier that as part of a campaign with La Roche Posay, there would be a pop up shop in Sydney’s Bondi Beach across December and January for anyone wanting to get a free skin check.
Located at the heart of Bondi Beach, the 365+ Summer Skin Lab is open Thursday 10 December 2020 to Sunday 31 January 2021.
More: Read the full interview with Deborah in this week’s Australia Women’s Weekly