A woman has urged people to check their skin and be diligent with any changing lumps and moles – after the “beauty mark” near her lip turned out to be skin cancer.
Andrea Moser, 49, from Montana, US, had always believed the flat brown mark above her lip was a beauty mark – but in January 2020, she noticed it appeared to be growing in size, getting darker and looked irregular in shape.
She had a routine check-up that month and asked her GP about it, who said it looked like a “normal mole” and not to worry.
But when she saw someone on Instagram getting an annual skin check, she decided to err on the side of caution due to her pale complexion and get checked.
She visited the dermatologist in the same month and they immediately found several areas of concern – including the worrying mark above her lip.
They took a biopsy and found a spot on her back was squamous cell skin cancer and, at the time, they believed the mark on her lip was currently at a pre-cancerous stage.
“When they told me I had a few spots but they didn’t think it was cancerous, I was just so glad that I had gone in,” Andrea, an estate agent, told Jam Press.
“Being fair skinned, it was always in the back of my mind that it could be a possibility.
“My mum was pretty worried because she has had some spots removed as well.”
While Andrea was concerned, she was relieved that the spots were a more common form of cancer which could be treated thanks to her insistence at getting checked out.
In March 2020, she underwent a procedure to remove the spot on her back and the mole above her lip – with doctors needing to make a large incision to cover the area surrounding the mole.
She said: “They essentially burned [the hole on my back] off and it scabbed up.
“But they wanted to make sure they got the entire spot above my life so that was more invasive.
“They had to cut the entire mole out and make a large incision along my smile line to pull the skin back up and make sure it didn’t look like I had a hole above my lip.
“I didn’t know how big it would be going into it, but thankfully I had an amazing surgeon who did a wonderful job.”
After removal, the mole was tested and found to be melanoma – a serious form of skin cancer.
Andrea said: “I was a little shocked – I always thought that would never happen to me.”
Luckily, doctors were confident they had removed the entire mole and that the melanoma had not spread.
Andrea said: “After the surgery it was hard to get used to the big incision but thankfully it has healed much better than I expected over the last 6 months.
“My smile is a little different now but also a reminder that I was able to overcome this and the melanoma didn’t win!”
Andrea has since been for three-monthly check-ups, which have all been clear, but she is more diligent than ever when it comes to her skin.
She added: “I use a mineral based SPF lotion everyday now – even in the winter – and have totally changed my skin care routine.”
Looking back on old pictures of herself, the spot can be seen steadily growing in size from as far back as 2009.
After her worrying brush with cancer, Andrea shared her story on Instagram to warn other people to have regular skin checks.
Thousands of people liked the post, with users commenting that they would be getting checked as a result.
One person said: “Thank you for sharing this post. After some other procedure I’m getting done, I’m going to get a spot checked on my face. It looks a lot like the picture.”
“So happy you captured it all without it spreading. I too am a melanoma survivor and am very conscious now. Sending hugs,” another user commented.
Someone else said: “Thank you for showing the before spot. I always want to see these because some are not the typical images you see online. I’m glad you’re doing well and your scar is barely noticeable. Nice job.”
Another user called it a “great reminder”.
Andrea said: “This was a wake-up call for me as to how important it is to get checked regularly and wear sun protection.
“I spent a lot of years not caring about it and I was hoping by sharing it would help other people to get checked before it’s too late.
“I heard lots of stories from people that decided to get checked so that made me happy. Some found nothing but others did find stuff and were able to get it taken care of.”
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