Woman shares warning after mark on face diagnosed as cancerous tumor 2 years later Alison O'Neill, now 49, said she first noticed a tiny mark on her cheek in 2017. "It looked like anything all of us have had in our life, like maybe a blemish forming," O'Neill told "Good Morning America." "It was a tiny little mark on my right cheek." O'Neill said she monitored the mark and had it checked out by a dermatologist, who told her it was likely a clogged oil gland. As the spot continued to grow over the years, O'Neill said she decided to have it removed. When O'Neill had the spot removed in spring of 2020, she said her doctor did a routine biopsy. To O'Neill's surprise, the biopsy showed the tumor was cancerous. Additional testing at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona diagnosed O'Neill with angiosarcoma, a cancer that forms in the lining of blood vessels and lymph vessels, according to the National Cancer Institute. It can show up on any part of the body but is most common in the skin, breast, liver and spleen. On the skin, angiosarcomas often appear as sometimes painful, bruised, purple-ish areas that grow larger over time and may bleed easily, according to the National Cancer Institute.
When O'Neill had the spot removed in spring of 2020, she said her doctor did a routine biopsy. To O'Neill's surprise, the biopsy showed the tumor was cancerous.
Additional testing at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona diagnosed O'Neill with angiosarcoma, a cancer that forms in the lining of blood vessels and lymph vessels, according to the National Cancer Institute. It can show up on any part of the body but is most common in the skin, breast, liver and spleen. On the skin, angiosarcomas often appear as sometimes painful, bruised, purple-ish areas that grow larger over time and may bleed easily, according to the National Cancer Institute.