Suffering from a rare disease, this woman has to undergo cancer treatment every year.

Melissa Lewis and her husband have four children and the whole family currently lives in Sydney, Australia. She used to work as a nurse. In 2011, she discovered the first skin cancer on her leg, according to the Daily Express (UK).

A rare skin cancer has forced Melissa Lewis to undergo regular cancer treatment every year for more than 10 years.

Doctors diagnosed her with Bowen's disease, a rare type of squamous cell cancer that causes red, scaly patches on the skin.

Later, other cancers appeared on her forehead, nose, chest and back. She had to have them all removed and combined with other treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Because the disease has a high chance of recurring, Ms. Lewis will need to undergo treatment every year. Doctors will use photodynamic therapy to prevent and control the spread of skin cancer. The therapy works by using a light-sensitive drug combined with a light source to kill abnormal cells in the skin.

However, in 2018, she discovered a group of freckles on her earlobe. When she went for a check-up, the doctor discovered it was skin cancer and had to be treated immediately.

"It was a blessing to find it. The cancer coming back was terrifying to think about," Lewis said.

Get tested early if you suspect skin cancer.

Since her first cancer diagnosis, Ms. Lewis has developed so many more that she has lost count of how many she has had.

Because of years of skin cancer treatment, her skin has many pitted scars from surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. She often advises her children to apply sunscreen when going out because this will significantly reduce the risk of skin cancer caused by ultraviolet rays.

According to the UK National Health Service (NHS), most people with Bowen's disease develop just one patch of cancer on their skin, while a few develop several. In the early stages, this type of skin cancer often doesn't cause any serious symptoms.

To identify Bowen's disease, the skin cancer scales will be flat, wider than 1cm, crusty, oozing, itchy, even ulcerated. Doctors say if the cancer scales appear on the genital skin area, it will be more serious, according to the Daily Express.

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