It is the inaugural staging of the local event, with the women saying they were inspired by their personal experiences with the disease.
“I’ve got stage four melanoma,” Ms Higgins said.
“I had a melanoma removed from my neck in 2019 and have since had numerous other melanomas.
“In October last year, they found ... four tumours on my right lung, and I’ve since had surgery and had 83 per cent of my right lung removed.”
Ms Higgins is undergoing treatment and radiation and will be doing so for the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, Ms Cameron’s partner has also been “touched” by melanoma.
Ms Cameron said when her best friend found out about her diagnosis, Ms Higgins rang Ms Cameron’s partner because they could relate.
“It was very gut-wrenching,” Ms Cameron said.
“All we wanted to do was to support her as much as we could.”
Now, they have organised the Melanoma March in Cobram to raise funds for melanoma research with the Melanoma Institute of Australia.
This year’s campaign aims to spotlight the dangers of tanning and the need for greater investment in national prevention strategies.
Melanoma Institute of Australia co-medical directors and 2024 Australians of the Year Professor Georgina Long and Professor Richard Scolyer said there was nothing healthy about a tan.
“Our bronzed Aussie culture is actually killing us,” Prof Long said.
“We call on advertisers and social media influencers — stop glamourising tanning or using it to sell or entertain.”
“We must elevate sun safety to equal status as other life-saving safety measures like seatbelts and helmets,” Prof Scoyler said.
Ms Higgins said the idea of participating in and organising the Melanoma March close to home was a spur-of-the-moment decision made by Ms Cameron.
“We’ve got about 120 registered people, and we’re expecting that there’ll be more over the next couple of days,” Ms Higgins said.
“On the day, we’re having raffles and an auction ... we’ve got some food trucks and things for the kids, face-painting.
“Just making it a bit of a family day as well.”
Australia has the highest melanoma rates in the world.
One person is diagnosed with melanoma every 30 minutes, and one person dies from the disease every six hours.
It is the most common cancer affecting Australians aged 20 to 39.
“Melanoma is not always from the UV; it can be from the genetics of your skin,” Ms Higgins said.
“We just really want to raise awareness for people to just buy sunscreen, wear a hat.”
The women had advice for those who preferred tanning under the sun.
“Just be smart and fake tan from a bottle,” Ms Higgins said.
“Go and have a spray tan as opposed to laying in the sun.”
Ms Cameron recalled the bad old days of sunbathing.
“I remember when I was young, we used to just get out of the sun with baby oil on our legs and arms because that’s how you get burned,” she said.
“We were literally frying ourselves because there was just no information back then to stop people from doing it.
“Now that we have information, we’ve really got to try and push it as much as we can because otherwise, we’re never going to stop it.”
Ms Cameron and Ms Higgins thanked those who had donated and registered for the Melanoma March and said they were looking forward to meeting everyone at the event.
“It’s not too late to register, and even if people can’t register, they can still come down, and we can help them through that process,” Ms Cameron said.
Melanoma March Cobram-Barooga will be held on Sunday, March 17 at Kennedy Park, Thompsons Beach, from 8.30am to 11.30am.
To register or donate to the cause, visit www.melanomamarch.org.au.
13°C