Walking into Deborah Hutton’s home on the east coast of Sydney is like arriving at an old friend’s place. She greets me with open arms and that beaming trademark smile. Before long we’re propped up on her couch, coffees in hand, nattering about everything from politics to nudity and the joys of getting older.
It was a very different story when The Weekly was here just four months ago. There was no smile, just an angry, jagged scar that made even the smallest facial movement painful.
This was the undisguised aftermath of a serious surgery to remove a facial BCC (Basal Cell Carcinoma) in May this year. The cover image and story the team captured that day would go on to be one of The Weekly’s most impactful and talked about of the year.
The reaction was overwhelming. The issue flew of the shelves and The Weekly’s office was inundated with letters, emails, phone calls and photos from people across the country sharing their own skin cancer battles or thanking Deborah for prompting them to get a check that turned out to be crucial.
With 2020 finally drawing to a close, we sit down again with Deb to talk health, happiness and why she can’t stop laughing about turning 60.
The reaction to your skin cancer story was incredible. Did it surprise you?
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