A scorching start to summer in the Bay of Plenty has probed one woman to send out a timely reminder on the risks of sun and skin damage.

Jess Carter, 23, is on a mission to help raise awareness about melanoma. It's an issue she says touches her on a personal level.

'No one thinks it'll happen to them, until it does, and it has to me.

'At the age of 23, with two young kids, I am faced with stage four metastatic melanoma in my lungs.

'The kids know ‘mum is sick' but being so young they don't grasp the full extent of it all. We definitely try to keep as much normality as possible.”

She is encouraging others to be proactive about their health.

'For me, and I say this because every patient and cancer are unique, my symptoms only presented after the cancer had spread.

'Because of this I am wanting to raise more awareness especially for people my age in hopes their symptoms can be detected earlier than mine has been.”

A simple skin check is all it takes, she says.

'I understand that these can be quite expensive and out of reach for a lot of people. If possible I would suggest asking a general practitioner to check any concerning moles that have changed in colour or size. The checks can definitely save lives.”

In her own journey she says current treatment has been intensive on her overall health.

'I have had four rounds of chemotherapy which has only caused me to lose my long hair, be nauseous and fatigued.

'My latest results unfortunately show pleural fluid which is a side effect so that will be drained.”

A new medication, dabrafenib, which is known to delay the progression of melanoma has been suggested to her by doctors. The drug costs around $20,000 per month.

'There are a lot of people self-funding this drug which I find extremely sad. Funding for cancer treatment should be the last thing we should have to worry about.

'Myself and many others in my position would love to see this funded here in New Zealand.”

In a mission to help support her, a close friend has established a Givealittle page to help raise funds to support Jess during treatment.

'Jess has a wonderful fighting attitude towards beating the cancer and has coped extremely well so far with her treatment,” says Dani.

'She has seen both sides of what this cancer can do as her dad went through the same but it's definitely unexpected to go through this at her age.

'Jess was working full time until just recently she has had to cut back her hours and won't be able to work much longer but she is holding on as long as she can.”

'We would appreciate it if anyone could contribute or even just sharing it around would be of big help,” says Jess.

Anyone who would like to support the cause can donate to Jess' Givealittle page.