I thought the little brown dot on my face was a sign of ageing

A mother-of-three is urging others to be diligent with skin checks after a small brown spot on her cheek turned out to be cancerous.

Catherine Smartt’s life was turned upside down after being diagnosed with stage 1 skin cancer on January 29.

The 40-year-old from Geelong told FEMAIL she first noticed ‘two little dots’ in October 2022 which looked like a ‘pigmentation spot’. When she fell pregnant in January 2023 doctors initially thought the dot was due to ‘hormonal changes’.

But over time it changed and grew in size but didn’t look like a ‘cliché’ melanoma – it wasn’t dark, there was no lump and the texture felt ‘rough’. 

During her pregnancy last year she watched The Kardashians regularly and coincidentally Khloe spoke about her own melanoma, which prompted Catherine to be more alert.

Almost every day for two years she would film herself putting lipstick on in the car and was unknowingly documenting the changes of the skin. 

‘I had other spots on my face that looked the same, so there was no indication that it was cancer,’ she said.

After giving birth in October she was aware that it’s ‘very common’ for the skin to change significantly. 

‘I thought to myself, “It’s because I’m pregnant, don’t worry about it”,’ she explained

And while spending time at home she would watch The Kardashians and ironically Khloe Kardashian spoke about her ‘skin cancer journey’. 

At the time the TV personality was diagnosed with skin cancer and showed images of what the cancerous dot looked like – and Catherine was surprised by what she saw as it looked ‘just like hers’.

‘I was lucky that I was tracking my face daily, plus I was made aware that not all skin cancers look like moles,’ she said. 

‘After I had the baby I expected it to calm down but it didn’t.’ 

Two months later she saw her GP for a pregnancy-related matter and asked about the dot. The doctor was immediately concerned with how it looked and conducted the biopsy. 

‘Thank god I prioritised getting it checked. I was sick of having to conceal it, but what if I had accepted it or said ‘this is 40, this is normal’,’ Catherine said. 

‘As mums, you can’t show your kids you’re afraid or that something’s wrong. You have to be strong for them.’

Catherine’s mum did have a stage four melanoma when she was in primary school and thankfully she’s still around today. 

But Catherine remembers being ‘afraid’ and doesn’t want her children feeling the same level of fear or worry.

‘It was good news because it was found early,’ she said. But the following day her eldest child was starting school so she had to ‘compartmentalise’ and push it to the side.

‘I had to park everything that I needed to worry about and focus on being a parent. It was such a huge week,’ she said. 

When she arrived home she felt ‘numb’ then told her husband and family. In the next few hours she met with a surgeon.

Catherine had surgery to remove the spot and surrounding tissue but had to go back within a week as the surgeon ‘wasn’t satisfied’ he had removed enough tissue. 

‘It was a big shock realising how put of an incision they had to make. At the time I was thinking “but it’s so small and they need to remove so much”,’ she said. And that was more shocking than the diagnosis. 

The pain after the surgery was ‘excruciating’ and she likened it to being ‘chopped in the face with an axe’. Now she has a diagonal scar stretching from the inner corner of her eye down to her mouth. 

‘I particularly liked how my lips looked and now they’re not symmetrical – I don’t recognise myself in the mirror anymore. There was also a risk that my eye would droop down if they pulled too much,’ she said. 

‘When I touch it, it doesn’t feel like my own face.’

One of her ‘lowest moments’ throughout the entire ordeal occurred after surgery when Catherine pondered the thought of what the outcome might’ve been if she didn’t ask for doctors to check the sinister speck. 

‘It’s crazy to think what may have happened if I didn’t do this. The thought of my kids being without a mum really hits hard,’ she said. 

‘I think I would’ve reacted very differently to this if I was in my 20s compared to now being in my 40s. You have to put on a brave face when you’re raising little people, and you have to be there for them. 

‘The Aussie sun is so deadly and our skin has not evolved to stand it.’ 

Now she has full-body skin checks and blood tests every few months and she will keep doing so for the rest of her life.

Following the dilemma Catherine feels less confident in herself and wants to ‘hide from the world’ while she heels from the surgery. 

In public she looks down a lot, wears big sunglasses and hats to cover the bandage on her face. 

‘I stay home quite a bit because I don’t want to go out. But I’m looking forward to the day I can put makeup on again. I miss being able to be me, doing my lipstick videos and trying new beauty products,’ she said. 

Now Catherine’s on a mission to educate others about what skin cancer can look like – and how it doesn’t always appear as an ‘ugly, black mole’.

‘Prioritise your health, as much as you would your kids. It’s so easy as mums to get caught up in day to day, when you are just as important,’ she said. 

‘You’re kids are going to miss you if you don’t look after yourself – consequences are huge. So get your skin checked and look after it. 

‘This isn’t something to be taken lightly. It’s very much a life or death situation. What’s the harm in getting something checked? Better to know earlier than later.’

Cancer Council recommends applying sunscreen 20 minutes before going outdoors and again every two hours.