A freelance copywriter who long dismissed a small mark on her neck as an ordinary birthmark has described her shock at learning that a change in its shape and color signaled stage three melanoma. Sarah Goldup, 42, of Farnham in Surrey, told herself for years that the marking, present since her teenage years, was nothing to worry about.
Only when it began to alter in appearance did she finally decide to seek medical advice. The diagnosis of malignant melanoma came when she was 38, a finding she now links directly to the pattern of sun exposure common among young women on package holidays roughly two decades earlier.
A Mark Ignored for Years
Goldup said she first traveled abroad with friends about 20 years ago, including a trip to Tenerife when she was 19. She used oil instead of sunscreen, and combined with her Irish background, she said, this meant she would burn. “I was never a sunbed user but that was the era of girls’ holidays when it was all about flying off to the sun and getting a tan,” she recalled. “Some of my friends had darker skin but I’m from an Irish background and I used oil instead of sunscreen, so I got really burnt.
I was diagnosed with melanoma when I was 38, so I’m pretty sure the damage happened then but only started to emerge years later.” For many years she ignored the spot on her neck, telling herself it was benign. “During that time, I told myself it was nothing to worry about,” she said.
“But then I got a call asking me to go into the surgery and was told it was malignant melanoma. It was both shocking and upsetting.” Goldup underwent two surgeries: one on her neck to remove the melanoma, and a second operation to remove another melanoma that was discovered on her chest. She was given the all clear.
In August, she began a year of immunotherapy treatment, a precautionary measure intended to prevent the cancer from returning. (As with all medical matters, readers are advised to consult their own doctor.)
The Hidden Danger of a Changing Birthmark
Medically, a birthmark is defined as a harmless mark on the skin that is either present at birth or appears soon afterward. Doctors classify these marks by their cause: some arise from an overgrowth of pigment cells, others from an excess of blood vessels.
Pigmented birthmarks include ordinary moles and café au lait spots, while vascular birthmarks range from faint salmon patches to deeper hemangiomas. Most vascular marks fade over time, though some persist into adulthood. The conditions reflect localized shifts in how skin cells develop before birth or during early infancy.
For centuries, people viewed birthmarks as ordinary skin features with no medical significance. Over time, medicine learned to distinguish harmless marks from dangerous growths, yet cultural ideas sometimes persisted, treating certain marks as beauty features or omens.
By the late twentieth century, public health campaigns began shifting attention toward preventable skin damage, especially from ultraviolet exposure. The rise of package holidays and sun-seeking travel in the 1980s and 1990s normalized heavy sun exposure, particularly among young women who commonly used oils instead of sunscreen. Today, what once seemed a simple cosmetic detail carries far greater consequence.
A changing birthmark—shifting in color, size, or texture—can be an early signal of skin cancer. Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, often begins in or near a preexisting mole or mark.
Decades after sun-damaged skin cells are laid down, the body’s defenses may fail to stop rogue cells from growing. Early detection remains the best defense, yet many people delay seeing a doctor because they assume any mark is a lifelong, harmless birthmark. This case illustrates why routine skin checks matter, especially for people with a history of sunburn or repeated intense exposure. Goldup’s experience underscores the potential long-term consequences of a cultural era that prized tanning above skin protection, and the importance of monitoring even the most unassuming marks on the body.
