Woman's skin blemish turns out to be cancer: 'Literally looked like a freckle'

A US woman is urging people to take skin checks seriously after a small blemish on her face turned out to be cancer.

Dr Jill Hechtman, an obstetrician from Florida, noticed a small freckle mark had developed on her face, but dismissed the development as a possible "beauty mark".

"It literally looked like a little freckle," Hechtman told TODAY USA.

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"It didn't change for the longest time and I was like, 'Oh, I've developed a beauty mark'."

The medical professional ignored the mark for more than six months before she got examined by a dermatologist.

After examining the mark on her right cheek, Hechtman underwent a biopsy and was informed the freckle was an invasive melanoma.

Hechtman received a phone a few days later, the doctor explaining to her, "I don't even know how to tell you this, but it's invasive melanoma."

According to the Cancer Council Australia, it was estimated up to 16,221 new cases of melanoma of the skin were diagnosed in 2020, with an 11 per cent increase of all cancer diagnoses across the board.

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Hechtman underwent surgery to remove the mark, leaving her with facial scars that she hopes will remind others to get their skin checked.

"I want someone to look at my face and say, 'Oh my gosh, like, could she have done something different had she gone in earlier?'" she said.

Hechtman notes the impact of coronavirus had put her off from visiting the doctor in the first place.

The US woman had .4mm of cancer removed from her face, and would have faced chemotherapy treatment if the cells had grown .3mm larger.

"If I can help one person get into the doctor because I did this story, I'll be happy," she said.

According to research from TAL, a leading Australian life insurer, 60 per cent of Aussie women say they will take measures to protect themselves from skin cancer - but only 27 per cent have gone for a "skin check" in the past 12 months.

Two in five women have avoided a professional skin check altogether, compared to a quarter of males.

Dr Priya Chagan, GM of Health Services and Chief Medical Officer of TAL, previously told 9Honey the lack of people getting skin checks was "alarming".

"The interesting thing is that it's on a part of your body you can see and easy to detect," she said.

"It's really important to be familiar with your skin - so perform regular skin checks on yourself at home.

"COVID has taught us, since retreating back into their home, that we have more time to prioritise our health and make things like a skin check a monthly routine."