Mom Reveals Realities of Skin Cancer With Before and After Photos

If you were to look at Bethany Greenway now, you’d think she was just like any other mom. However, Greenway’s spent the past year in treatment for two types of skin cancer, which she chronicled on Facebook in a photo album called “Melanoma Photo Diary.“

In 2014, Greenway first saw what she thought was a liver spot on her head. Not only was the spot a bit alarming, the constant aching she experienced was as well. Knowing that her mother had stage 1B melanoma in her 30s, Greenway had her spot looked at, but was told it was benign. Two years later, in 2016, she received the devastating news.

“I remember that my plastic surgeon called on a Thursday, just after my father-in-law took my oldest child swimming at the neighborhood pool,” Greenway told The Mighty. “The doctor asked if I was sitting down because we needed to have a serious conversation.”

That’s when her surgeon told her, after finally getting biopsy results from several different labs, she had two different types of cancer. The mole on her forehead was desmoplastic melanoma, and the bigger spot on her forehead was melanoma.

Greenway was soon put in touch with an oncologist and had her first of two surgeries in August 2016. One surgery consisted of a skin graft — where skin from her thigh was put on her forehead — and the second surgery consisted of removing five millimeters of the lower half of her surrounding skin.

She then decided to chronicle her journey, from diagnosis through current treatment, on Facebook. You can see some photos below.

Recovering from her first surgery.

Introducing her medicated compression bandage, which she calls “SpongeBob’s Asshole.”

Getting SpongeBob removed and meeting “Bacon.”

Starting the healing process.

Lying in a hospital bed the morning before her second surgery.

Healing after the second surgery.

First time going out after surgery.

Feeling frustrated.

Being tired.

Finding three remaining eyebrow hairs.

Feeling like a dragon after radiation treatment.

And getting more biopsies.

Throughout her journey, one thing Greenway said keeps her grounded is the love she has for her daughters, whom she makes a point to have “special dates” with every day.

“The girls get to choose what type of activity we do. It’s a time for us to reconnect and for me to slow down for a moment each day. Vegging out and cuddling with them makes life so much easier.”

Greenway also credits staying active with helping her through treatments. What started as a 2K swim at Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas then led to a 5K swim at Lake Travis (where she swam during her second pregnancy), and then to another 2K swim again.

Then, after jokingly suggesting to start a triathlon team with a few friends from The Shade Project (a nonprofit dedicated to preventing skin cancer), they actually took her up on the offer and created one. She just completed her second relay triathlon this past week.

Greenway hopes that sharing her photo diary will inspire others to do the same, but also keep them educated about the dangers of skin cancer.

Her words of wisdom: “Listen to and take care of your body, and pay attention to the changes it makes.”

To see more of Greenway’s melanoma photo diary, follow her on Facebook.

For more stories like this, like Cancer on The Mighty on Facebook.

All photos courtesy of Bethany Greenway