Chelsea Rees, 29, had the mole removed and was later given the all-clear
Credit: Alamy
NEED TO KNOW
- Chelsea Rees, 29, was diagnosed with skin cancer after a dream made her decide to get a mole on her chest checked
- Rees, from Cardiff in Wales, had the dream shortly after her uncle died from cancer in August 2025
- The mole was removed and Rees received the all-clear
A woman was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma after a dream prompted her to get a mole checked the very next day.
Chelsea Rees, who lives in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, in the U.K., lost her uncle to cancer in August 2025. "This really hit our family hard, and shortly after the funeral I had a dream that a mole on my chest had spread and was cancer," the 29-year-old told local charity Tenovus Cancer Care.
Speaking to the BBC, Rees said she had no other skin cancer symptoms and only noticed the mole because she hadn't had one before.
Credit: Getty
"I was going through grief as well, so I wanted to help myself, because it was quite a scary time," she told the broadcaster. "I just felt like 'I know my body,' and it just was not right for me."
Rees, newly married to her husband Kyle, previously sent photos of the mole on her chest to an app that was part of her workplace's healthcare plan, but was told it wasn't a cause for concern, per Tenovus.
The day after her dream, Rees went to the doctor, and a nurse checked the mole over.
Once again, she was told it was nothing to worry about, but the nurse said she'd take photos and pass them to the dermatology department.
Credit: Getty
"I was happy to have it escalated," Rees told Tenovus. The dermatology department made her an appointment to have the mole removed to ensure it couldn't spread.
Two months after it was removed, in January 2026, she was told it was a stage 1b malignant melanoma.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that begins in the melanocytes, according to the Mayo Clinic. Melanocytes are the cells that make melanin, giving skin its pigment.
It can be treated successfully, particularly when found early. The Melanoma Research Alliance states that for stage 1a and 1b melanoma combined, the five-year survival rate is about 97%.
In February, Rees was back at the hospital, where she underwent a full-body scan and had her lymph nodes checked, Tenovus reported. She also underwent further surgery to remove cancer cells that might have spread in the area and was given the all-clear six weeks later.
In August, Rees will return to the hospital to get her skin and lymph nodes checked, per the BBC.
“I had only been married to my husband for just over a year, and it puts things into perspective," she told Tenovus, explaining that she decided to reach out to the charity for counselling. "The feelings of ‘what if' did creep in," she said.
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She also thanked her family and employer for their support and urged people to pay attention to their skin.
"I would encourage everyone to be aware of any changes in their bodies and to check for changing shapes of moles and anything that concerns them," she said.
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