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20-year-old Mack Horton felt like he’d reached the top of the world when he became an Olympic gold medalist for the 400m freestyle. The Australian swimmer celebrated with his teammates and girlfriend – before receiving a chilling message.
A fan had sent an email to the Australian swim team coach, advising that he tell Horton to visit the doctor.
After watching Horton swim for the past two years, the fan had noticed a mole on Horton’s chest slowly change shape. The mole was slowly getting bigger and darker in color, causing the fan to become concerned that the skin growth was actually a symptom of cancer.
A month after the Olympics, Horton heard the message – and went to the doctor to get checked out.
Just as the fan suspected, the mole on Horton’s chest had been an early sign of melanoma, the most common form of cancer in Australia.
Doctors suspect that the constant exposure to sunlight makes it more likely for Australian people to develop skin cancer than people in other parts of the world.
Since his appointment, Horton is happy to report that he’s now safe and mole-free. “Shout out to the person that emailed the swim team doctor and told me to get my mole checked out. Good call. Very good call,” he wrote in an Instagram post after getting the growth removed.
You can see his photo for yourself.
