JENNIFER Thulborn was aged 30 and pregnant with her second daughter when she discovered a black mole in the middle of her shoulder blades.

That was the start of a 23-year battle against melanoma for the Tweed Heads West resident.

"When my daughter was 12 weeks old, a female doctor said 'get it off straight away, it looks like a melanoma',” Ms Thulborn said.

"I had 100 stitches in my back from a tiny mole. The cancer went to 1.5mm deep. I went and saw an oncologist and he said 'live your life as normal'. At 47, I'd just got back from my honeymoon - my second marriage - and I was getting spots in front of my eyes. I was feeling a bit giddy sometimes and started to get headaches.”

On this occasion, Ms Thulborn was treated for migraine and sent for a CT scan to rule out anything more serious.

"I got a call from the doctor and she said 'you need to come back straight away and see me, and you need to call your husband to come too',” Ms Thulborn said.

"I had a 39mm brain tumour. Had it been left a week more, I could have been dead and life just changed.

"I had brain surgery to remove the tumour and had a tumour in my lung. I've had eight brain tumours altogether and three brain surgeries.”

She'll be lining up to walk in the Melanoma March at Coolangatta, a fun event where participants can walk or march along a short course to raise awareness about melanoma and funds for life-changing research.

At the moment, Ms Thulborn is showing no signs of melanoma.

"I'm grateful I'm still here to see milestones of my four children,” she said.

"New treatments and drug trials - thanks to important fundraising - are prolonging many lives and getting us closer to finding a cure.”

The Longest Melanoma March goes from Brisbane to Sydney, covering 1200km in 29 days.

FAST FACTS

The Longest Melanoma March will pass through:

Pottsville from 5pm on Tuesday, March 7 and Coolangatta at The Strand from 6.30am to 10am on Sunday, March 26.

To register, visit www. melanomamarch.org.au