‘Love Island’ Alum Molly-Mae, 26, Shows Off ‘Summer Skin’ Four Years After Having Cancerous Mole Removed— Understanding Melanoma

“Summer skin… Swipe for cuteness,” Molly-Mae wrote alongside a selfie she recently shared, in addition to adorable footage of her and her daughter putting on makeup.

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A post shared by Molly-Mae (@mollymae)

Molly-Mae’s skin often looks fresh and flawless in her recent posts, but her confidence and willingness to spread awareness for skin cancer is something we can’t help but admire.

As for her melanoma diagnosis back in 2020, Molly-Mae shared the news in a blog post on YouTube, where she admitted to pushing for answers when it came to a strange mole she found on her leg.

Molly-Mae, who ultimately had surgery to remove the suspicious mole, which her mom initially spotted after she finished competing in “Love Island.”

She explained on YouTube, “I had the mole removed, the removal was fine/ I got the call today, and he’s told me it is a malignant melanoma, which is skin cancer basically, which is obviously petrifying, and shocking, and scary.

“I don’t even know what to really think or say.”

Molly-Mae is grateful to have gotten her skin checked, something she decided to do after learning about a teen who passed away from skin cancer.

She recounted how when she first showed a doctor her odd mole, she was told not to worry. After seeking another opinion, she was told to get the mole taken off—which was a potentially life-saving decision. She also underwent an additional surgery after having the mole biopsied, however, she didn’t go into detail on what that surgery entailed. It’s likely the second surgery was to remove any remaining cancer.

Molly-Mae continued, “I had a feeling though and I cannot believe that I was told by other doctors that it was okay. I am so upset and angry. I briefly asked this doctor, when I was walking out of the doctors, to double check this, and I was walking out with skin cancer on my leg.

“If I hadn’t have asked, I would have still had that mole on my leg now, and I’d be none the wiser, and it could be spreading through my body. You just never know.”

Aside from her skin cancer scare, Molly-Mae has also had lumps removed from her breast and finger, along with pre-cancerous moles removed from her leg.

Stunning ‘Love Island’ Star is Not Sweating Her ‘Loads of Scars’ from Multiple Medical Scares: ‘They All Tell a Story’

The fashionista also underwent surgery for her endometriosis, which causes tissue to grow in the fallopian tubes and ovaries.

In an earlier post on Instagram, from about three years ago, Molly-Mae explained, “I have loads of scars now from surgeries I’ve had. I’ve had Endo scars, lump removal, mole removal scars… they all tell a story.”

“If anything, I’m grateful to have the scars there in place of what was there before, so I’m lucky I was able to get them sorted!”

Molly-Mae also had a breast cancer scare in March 2022.

She recalled, “I basically noticed a little lump in my boob, went to get it checked and it was completely fine, completely benign. It’s a little thing called a fibroadenoma and it’s a normal thing to get at this age, small lumps can happen all the time it doesn’t mean they’re sinister.”

More recently, in May 2025, Molly-Mae revealed she had a blood clot scare after taking a lengthy flight

She said, “Basically yesterday I thought I had a blood clot and half of today I thought I had a blood clot in my leg.”

She explained further, “They said that I’m completely fine, like all my vitals… my heart rate, blood test, everything was absolutely fine. … There was nothing that showed them any sort of concern or anything about a blood clot.”

In an effort to encourage others to take symptoms seriously, Molly-Mae added, “It needs to be taken so much more seriously because it can happen to anyone at any age. Maybe I had one, maybe I didn’t. I read that blood clots can disperse by themselves and it’s not always going to be sinister.

“‘I do think it’s important to share it because you never really think it’s going to happen to you. I was convinced I had one but the doctors fully checked me over and said I was fine. I’m just happy to be feeling a lot better now. It does just feel like a bad dream what happened last night, so strange.”

Understanding Melanoma

Melanoma starts in the same cells that give your skin, hair, and eyes their color. In melanoma, the cells change in a way that allows them to spread to other organs.

Changes to a mole you’ve had for a while or a new growth on your skin could be signs of melanoma.

RELATED: Speaking Out After Skin Cancer Surgery: ‘Summer House’ Star Ashley Wirkus ‘Always Wore Sunscreen’ Says it Still Wasn’t Enough

You’re most likely to find melanoma on sun-exposed skin areas like your face, neck, arms, and legs. Surprisingly, you might also find them in other places as well, like:

• The palms of your hands or soles of your feet
• On your eyes or mouth
• Under your nails

The top way to protect yourself is by staying out of the sun, especially during peak hours, and avoiding unprotected sun exposure because ultraviolet (UV) radiation can lead to melanoma.

According to experts like Dr. Anna Pavlick, an oncologist at NYU’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, tanning beds pose ultraviolet radiation risks for skin cancer and should be avoided completely.

RELATED: How Do I Know My Skin Cancer is Gone?

Dr. Pavlick notes that people who are covered with moles stand a higher risk of developing skin cancer, especially people with dysplastic nevis syndrome, or “atypical” moles.

Atypical moles are those that are unusual-looking and, when seen under a microscope, they have irregular features. Although usually benign, a high number of atypical moles do signal an increased risk for melanoma, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation which says people with 10 or more atypical moles have 12 times higher risk of developing melanoma.

Warning Signs of Skin Cancer – Remember ABDCE

The most important thing to look out for when it comes to finding melanoma is a sudden, new spot on your skin or a spot that is quickly changing in size, shape, or color.

Dr. Cecelia Larocca, a dermatologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, recommends implementing the ABCDE rule to determine if a mole requires further examination.

The ABCDE rule:

• A: Asymmetry of the mole, or when one half of the mole doesn’t match the other
• B: Border irregularity or Bleeding
• C: Color change either lightening or darkening of a mole
• D: Diameter greater than 6mm or enlarging moles
• E: Evolving size, shape or color.

WATCH: Dr. Cecila Larocca on the ABCDEs of checking moles for signs of skin cancer

Melanoma that moves into the body, away from the skin, becomes an entirely different treatment journey for patients.

Treatment options for melanoma that has spread include targeted therapy and immunotherapy, which give people a better chance of living a long and healthy life than ever before. If you’re diagnosed with melanoma, there’s a good chance surgery will be the treatment your doctor recommends.

Cancer removal usually leads to a cure in the early stages of the disease. After surgery, the removed tissue and lymph nodes are examined to measure the melanoma and determine if it has clear margins. Clear margins mean the cells around the area of tissue that was removed don’t contain any melanoma.

When no cancer cells are left around the removed area, your cancer is less likely to return.

Melanoma Treatment Options

Melanoma treatment has come a long way. Survival rates have risen dramatically, thanks to a “treatment revolution,” say SurvivorNet’s experts. With breakthrough treatments like targeted therapy and immunotherapy now available, people who are diagnosed today have a much better chance of living a long and healthy life than ever before.

If you’re diagnosed with melanoma, there’s a good chance surgery is going to be the treatment your doctor recommends. In the early stages of the disease, removing the cancer should lead to a cure. The question is typically not whether you’ll get surgery, but which kind you’ll have.

WATCH: Dermatologic Surgeon Dr. Nima Gharavi, On The “Gold Standard Treatment” For Melanoma

For an early-stage melanoma that is close to the skin surface, Mohs surgery might be an option. This technique removes skin cancer, layer by layer, until all the cancer is gone.

In general, stage I melanoma surgery consists of the simple, in-office removal of the cancerous cells by a dermatologist. If the cancer is thicker, your surgeon will remove it through a technique called wide excision surgery.

The removal of stage II and III melanomas are performed by surgeons or surgical oncologists, not dermatologists. You may also have a sentinel lymph node biopsy to see if the melanoma has spread to the first lymph node where it’s most likely to travel. If your cancer has reached this first lymph node, it may have spread to other neighboring lymph nodes, and possibly to other organs. Where the cancer is will dictate your treatment.

After surgery, the removed tissue and lymph nodes will go to a specialist called a pathologist, who will measure the melanoma and find out if it has clear margins. Having clear margins means the cells around the area of tissue that was removed don’t contain any melanoma. When there aren’t any cancer cells left around the removed area, your cancer is less likely to come back.

Once your cancer spreads, treatment gets a little more complicated, but there are still ways to stop it. New treatments have vastly improved the outlook for people with metastatic, or stage IV, melanoma.

Targeted drugs and immunotherapy have been shown to be more effective than chemotherapy. So, with many more choices, there is no standard treatment. Treatment will vary based on your condition and whether there is recurrent disease.

Research has found that immunotherapy drugs such as Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab) helped some people live longer. Combining immunotherapy drugs Yervoy (ipilimumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab) has also extended survival. Opdivo (nivolumab) + relatlimab is a new therapy option added to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines in 2022.  The combination of two immunotherapies is called Opdualag.

For those with the BRAF mutation, targeted drugs which shrink or slow the tumor can be a good option. This could include a combination of drugs, such as:

• Zelboraf (vemurafenib) and Cotellic (cobimetinib)
• Braftovi (encorafenib) and Mektovi (binimetinib)
• Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib)
• Zelboraf (vemurafenib) and Cotellic (cobimetinib) can also be combined with atezolizumab.

“Every patient is different and every situation is different,” says Dr. Anna Pavlick, medical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine. She emphasized that “there is no cookie-cutter recipe,” for treating stage IV melanoma.

There Is No “Cookie Cutter Recipe” for Treating Stage Four Melanoma

Dr. Pavlick also notes the importance of personalized care and treatment. “It really is a matter of looking at the tools we have so that we can pick the right tools to give the patient the best outcome.”

So, while there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating metastatic melanoma, your doctor will work with you to develop a treatment plan that is tailored to your individual situation. Advances in research and technology are making the fight against metastatic melanoma more hopeful than ever.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

If you are diagnosed with skin cancer, SurvivorNet suggests some of the following questions to address with your care team:

• What type of skin cancer do I have?
• What treatment options exist for my type of melanoma?
• Will insurance cover this treatment?
• Would treatment through a clinical trial make sense for me?
• What resources exist to help manage my anxiety because of this diagnosis?

Leading Experts Urge Us to Be Proactive

“If I had any advice for you following a cancer diagnosis, it would be, first, to seek out multiple opinions as to the best care,” National Cancer Institute Chief of Surgery Steven Rosenberg told us in a previous interview, “because finding a doctor who is up to the latest of information is important.”

As we highlight in several areas of SurvivorNet, highly respected doctors sometimes disagree on the right course of treatment, and advances in genetics and immunotherapy are creating new options. Also, in some instances the specific course of treatment is not clear cut. That’s even more reason why understanding the potential approaches to your disease is crucial.

At the National Cancer Institute, there is a patient referral service that will “guide patients to the right group depending on their disease state so that they can gain access to these new experimental treatments,” Rosenberg says.

Cancer Research Legend Urges Patients to Get Multiple Opinions

Furthermore, getting another opinion may also help you avoid doctor biases. For example, some surgeons own radiation treatment centers. “So there may be a conflict of interest if you present to a surgeon that is recommending radiation because there is some ownership of that type of facility,” Dr. Jim Hu, director of robotic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet.

Other reasons to get a second opinion include:

• To see a doctor who has more experience treating your type of cancer
• You have a rare type of cancer
• There are several ways to treat your cancer
• You feel like your doctor isn’t listening to you, or isn’t giving you good advice
• You have trouble understanding your doctor
• You don’t like the treatment your doctor is recommending, or you’re worried about its possible side effects
• Your insurance company wants you to get another medical opinion
• Your cancer isn’t improving on your current treatment

RELATED: Be Pushy, Be Your Own Advocate, Says Leading Expert 

Bottom line, being proactive about your health could be a matter of life or death. Learn as much as you can from as many experts as you can, so that you know that you did your best to take control of your health.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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