'My daughter thought it was just a chocolate stain ... she saved my life'

"I have to thank my 15-year-old daughter for identifying it. She saved my life."

Joel Erickson

3 min read

May 30, 2024 - 2:19PM

Amanda with her husband. Picture: Today

Family Life

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A mum has spoken of her shock at being diagnosed with a deadly cancer after her toddler noticed a ‘chocolate stain’ on her wrist.

Amanda Eilian was 33 when she visited her doctor in 2010 who initially dismissed the dangerous mole.

However, he eventually agreed to move it after much ‘pushing’ from Amanda.

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The Daily Mail reports the doctor called Amanda the next day to tell her the mole was actually stage 2 melanoma.

“It was a great lesson - not the way you want to learn the lesson - of learning the importance of self-advocacy and taking a proactive role in your own health,” the now 47-year-old mum said.

“It takes a certain amount of self confidence to continue to push back, and frankly, I lacked it at the time, and still have to intentionally cultivate the knowledge that I know my body better than anyone else.”

Amanda with her husband. Picture: Today

"The doctor just dismissed it"

Amanda’s family had a history with skin cancer, so she was well aware of the importance of sun safety and regular skin check ups.

So when she noticed a dark spot on her wrist in 2008, she asked her doctor to check it at least twice in skin exams, but he repeatedly told her it was fine.

“I had noticed a spot on my right wrist, an unusual spot, probably the darkest spot on my body,” she said.

“I later learned (the colour) was a common marker of skin cancer.

“The doctor had dismissed it and said ‘Don’t worry about that’.”

Amanda said she owed her life to her now teenaged daughter. Picture: Daily Mail

"It was such an unusual thing for her to notice"

Two years later, in 2010, her toddler’s seemingly innocent remark increased her worrying.

“My two-year-old pointed to the spot on my wrist, which she had never mentioned before, and said ‘you have chocolate mummy’,” she told The Daily Mail.

“It was such an unusual thing for her to notice.”

Amanda then asked her dermatologist to remove the mole at her next appointment, but he once again dismissed her concerns.

“After my pushing, he did take it off, but as he was doing it I distinctly remember him saying ‘I’m just telling you right now that this is nothing’.”

It only took 24 hours for the doctor to call Amanda back with the bad news, and a later biopsy showed it was a stage 2 melanoma.

“It was a very scary thing to hear when I had two young children at home,” Amanda said.

Amanda knew of the dangers of skin cancer because of her family history. Picture: Getty Images

The Daily Mail reports Amanda had surgery to remove the mole, but doctors said it would be difficult to remove it completely while getting clear borders to ensure all the cancer was gone.

“There was concern that because of the amount of tissue they had to take out that there was a risk of me losing some function in my hand,” she said.

“Thank goodness I never had that problem, but the surgery was a little bit delicate from that standpoint.”

The surgery ended up being a success, and Amanda did not require any further chemotherapy or other related treatment.

"I feel very lucky"

She has now been cancer free for almost 15 years, and still goes to the doctor every three months for a skin check.

“I have been healthy, I feel very lucky,” she said.

“I initially felt very frightened, but feeling like I was having some control in my own journey and in my own outcomes gave me a lot of solace and was probably helpful in my recovery.”

Amanda said her story was proof that more people needed to fight hard for their own health.

“While I would never say I know as much about melanoma or dermatology as a doctor, I do know more about my body than anyone else.

“Be persistent and be confident in yourself and your own observations.”