Treasurer Jim Chalmers reveals melanoma diagnosis

Treasurer Jim Chalmers revealed he had a skin cancer scare and warned Australians they needed to take care of their health.

Chalmers was diagnosed with chest melanoma in late 2020 and is now speaking about it to raise awareness.

“Frankly, I was one of those very content bastards. To do.

“I was especially complacent about the marks on my chest that have been there for a while.”

Mr. Chalmers let Mark see only while he was in the clinic.

“While he was pounding the script at me on the keyboard, I said to him, ‘What do you think about this on my chest?'” he said.

“From his face and what he said afterwards, I knew I needed to check it out.

“I did, but it was a melanoma and had to be cut from the chest.”

After the melanoma was surgically removed, Chalmers said he suffered postoperative “drama” in the wake of the discovery.

“Even question time, I had a little pump attached to my chest at one point, and there were a few other things like that,” he said.

“For me, it’s been a really good few months for me to think about what it means to take better care of myself and pay more attention to my health. could do better in that respect.”

Chalmers said he was fully aware of how much worse things would have been if he hadn’t checked out Mark.

“Some people do die from skin cancer, but it’s also very common and thankfully it’s becoming more and more common for people to discover it early enough to do something about it. It’s a target,” he said.

“If we don’t arrive in time, it’s obviously potentially life threatening. Despite leaving my house too late, I’ve had the help of doctors and surgeons to get it resolved in time.” I got there.”

He now calls on Australians to do more to protect their health.

We cannot be complacent about these things. You have to do these checks, apply sunscreen, and wear a lacy and a hat.

“Many of us are very good at it when it comes to our kids, but when it comes to our own health, it’s when we’re in the pool, at the beach, going for a run, or whatever. When there is…yes, we really have to be sun wise.”