If not for her mother-in-law's insistence she see a doctor, Katie Stead may have not lived to share her story.
In 2013, while pregnant with her second child, Stead's mother-in-law, who is trained as a surgical nurse spotted a different mole on the her arm and insisted she book an appointment with a GP or surgeon to have it checked. While Stead remained unconcerned, the visit organised by her mother-in-law in the end saved her life.
"I just kept thinking, 'OK, this is fairly serious, but they will cut it and I will be fine," Ms Stead, now 35 and a mother of three, told Fairfax Media.
What Ms Stead hadn't realised before the procedure was that it was a matter of life and death.
"When I was on the operating table, the surgeon said, 'It's good you're here, it is good that we got it because you would have been dead within a year.' It was rapidly progressing because of my pregnancy and could have transferred into the womb.
"That's not really what I was expecting to hear and even though I kept thinking, 'Why tell me that, I am here and it has been fixed,' he obviously wanted me to take it more seriously than I was at the time."
But she isn't a rare case. Ms Stead is among the 750,000 people treated for one or more melanoma skin cancers in Australia each year, according to the Cancer Council.
While 95 per cent of people know they should have regular skin checks, new research by life insurance company TAL shows nearly three-quarters of respondents had not been professionally checked for moles in the past 12 months, while nearly 40 per cent of respondents had never been checked.
Dr Sally Phillips, TAL general manager, Health Services, said melanoma rates doubled in Australia between 1986 and 2006.
She said it was particularly troubling that 54 per cent of 18-29 year olds have never had a skin check, which is the time to "potentially catch the melanoma in its early stages."
"Although we know about sun safety, what we are not understanding is the importance of early detection of melanoma which is why skin checks are vital on a regular basis," Dr Phillips said.
"Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer by the age of 70, but regular check-ups no matter your skin type, gender and age can help detect and eliminate skin cancer at its early stages."
A melanoma detected early has a near 100 per cent survival rate after five years. But left to spread to other parts of the body, the survival rate plummets to 54 per cent.
"So a skin check which is 15 minutes of your time can really save your life," Dr Phillips said.
TAL is sponsoring free spot checks, conducted by trained medical professionals at sites around the country this summer. Dr Phillips said there are things people can do at home, but she stressed nothing can replace a professional check on an annual basis.
"Make sure [moles or lesions] haven't increased in size and the shape and colour haven't changed. Look out for any pearl or crusty lesions or moles on the body as well that aren't healing," she said.
Ms Stead, whose husband had part of his lip removed due to melanoma about 15 years ago, said she has felt some anxiety after having her treatment but feels fortunate to have been given a fresh lease on life.
"It's about being aware, that's what I have learned from the process," she said. "I am quite proactive now, and need to have six-month skin checks for the rest of my life because the likelihood of another melanoma growing is high, but [the checks] don't take long. Also if you have a partner look at each other's bodies and if you identify something different occurring get it checked out.
"My husband and I both have scars as a reminder so we point it out to people and say, 'Be careful, these are the consequences right in front of you. Just think about those consequences and just go get a skin check done."
The TAL Spotcheck pop-up clinics will be at Federation Square, Melbourne, on January 27-28, Henley Beach, Adelaide, February 10-11, and City Beach, Perth, February 24-25.