Australian surfing legend Rob Conneeley, 73, has spent most of his life at the beach, from his outdoorsy childhood to his successful surfing career, which saw him win the 1965 Bells Beach Surf Classic (now known as the Rip Curl Pro) at 17 years of age.
“It wasn’t like I had a choice,” Rob tells Starts at 60, revealing that from the age of two he was an avid beach-goer, thanks to his dad’s involvement in the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club and his mum’s love of running, swimming and body surfing.
But Rob’s laid-back ‘beachy’ lifestyle eventually took a toll on his skin, despite his best efforts to cover-up, which included a hat and some zinc on the tip of his nose and cheeks.
“Sunscreen wasn’t all that great … we just had pink zinc,” he explains.
As a result, Rob has been fighting non-melanoma skin cancer for the past 35 years, undergoing treatments and surgery. But – like many others – Rob initially didn’t know that non-melanoma skin cancer could one day be life-threatening.
There are two main types of non-melanoma skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma (BCC), which is the most common but least dangerous type of skin cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). While SCC is not as dangerous as melanoma, it can be threatening in rare cases.
The father-of-two was left fighting for his life two years ago, after a particularly aggressive SCC spread throughout his body. Rod had to have major surgery to his neck, as well as radiation therapy, leaving him with a long scar.
“I had to be opened up ear to ear,” Rob explained. “There were 12 tumours, 20 lymph [nodes] and some muscle tissue taken out … when I came out of [surgery] I was pretty damaged. It took [me] three days before I look[ed] in a mirror.
“Melanoma, deservingly, has a very extreme reputation, and everyone, [including] myself, thinks that non-melanoma skin cancer is nowhere [near] as bad. And in truth it’s not, but … its significance can’t be downplayed, and that was my error – working with natural remedies, postponing [treatment, and] putting it off.”
Rob also faced a troublesome non-melanoma skin cancer on his temple not too long ago. His doctor at the time recommended he go to GenesisCare for Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) – an innovative new radiation therapy – to minimise any further scarring. The treatment is currently being rolled out in GenesisCare clinics across Australia, and up to 80 per cent of the cost is covered through Medicare.
The veteran surfer says he’s now on the mend and isn’t undergoing any radiation therapy at the moment. However, that doesn’t mean he is out of the woods just yet, as he recently had some BCCs cut out of his back.
“I’m [now] mopping up the things that I’ve neglected for two years. Sun damage just keeps [showing up], so I have to stay on top of it,” he explains.
Rob is now on a mission to raise much-needed awareness about non-melanoma skin cancers.
“Put simply, if people, when [they] come out of the water, put on a long-sleeve shirt and a broad-brimmed hat, they won’t end up in the condition I’m [now] in,” he said, adding it’s also super important to not just rely on sunscreen.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.
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