The Shocking Truth About Birthmarks and Skin Cancer.
Ilia J. Smith, a 42-year-old woman from Texas, discovered that her birthmark was actually stage 2B melanoma after she scratched it and it began bleeding. She had ignored her friend's advice to get it checked out in 2009. Smith, who used to be an avid tanner, has had to change her lifestyle and avoid the sun altogether. She urges people of all ethnicities to get their freckles or moles checked out by a board-certified dermatologist at least once a year.