Ian Cant has a blunt message for those who choose not to practise sun protection.
"You do not want to experience what I experienced. You do not want to end up with melanoma," said Mr Cant, 56.
"It is a completely preventable type of cancer."
Mr Cant, a Thornton-based carpenter, has joined a campaign for greater awareness of sun protection among outdoor workers.
The Hunter Melanoma Foundation aims to train outdoor workers through an online program it established.
The foundation's executive officer Claudia Tolhurst said "it's not just a tick and flick exercise".
"It's been designed to create behavioural change in outdoor workers," Ms Tolhurst said.
"Skin cancer is a work and safety issue. UV radiation is a known workplace risk that causes workers' compensation claims."
She said the training program aimed to give outdoor workers "a better understanding of UV radiation, its dangers and how to prevent melanoma and other skin cancers".
It teaches people about UV ratings and "how to protect themselves if the rating is high", she said.
"It gives you an idea of how to look for spots on your skin."
Mr Cant, a former police detective, was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in April 2016.
"It was all through my body. I was 46 at the time," he said.
"I had a tennis-ball sized melanoma sitting on top of my left lung and about 30 smaller tumours in both my lungs.
"I had a golf-ball sized tumour in the back of my brain and two in my abdomen."
His lymphatic system was "inundated with melanoma".
"It was scary. Your kids and your family are what you think about," he said.
"My kids were so young at the time."
He had brain surgery to remove a tumour that was attached to the lining of his brain.
He was then put on the immunotherapy drug, pembrolizumab, at the Calvary Mater.
"It had just been put on the PBS, so it cost me $37 [per infusion]," he said.
Without that, it would have cost up to $11,000 for each infusion.
Mr Cant had an infusion once every three weeks for about 12 months.
"I had my first scan at three months. It showed that my melanoma had basically gone," he said.
"Since then, I've had regular checks."
In 2022, his final visit with his oncologist confirmed he remained cancer-free.
"I am one of the lucky ones. For whatever reason, immunotherapy worked for me. It does not work for everybody," he said.
Mr Cant grew up "in the sun in the '70s and '80s".
"We had a van at Sandbar Beach up on the Lakes Way," he said.
He is now "very protective of my children and family".
"They do not get to leave the house in summer or winter without sunscreen. It sits in a prominent place at home," he said.
"It becomes part of what you do everyday. You eat breakfast, clean your teeth and put sunscreen on."
Mr Cant said he "couldn't overemphasise enough" the importance of regular skin checks "by experts, yourself and your family".
"Check your own skin. Your doctor will ask if you've noticed any changes," he said.
"Go and see an expert at least once every 12 months."
