After initially covering up the “ugly mark” on her toenail with makeup, a woman discovered it was cancer.
Laura Jennings, a 40-year-old woman from Leeds, believed she had a bruise from unintentionally kicking something with her toe and assumed it would heal on its own.
She applied nail varnish to the toenail in the interim, but when it came time to remove it, a portion of it fell off, which she realized was not good.
Considering that individuals constantly lose their toenails, she wasn’t too concerned and called her general practitioner.
Because she couldn’t schedule an in-person appointment because of pandemic interruptions that continued into 2022.
Her general practitioner received photos of her marked toe and determined that she had a fungal nail infection. A portion of the toenail was submitted for additional examination.
Laura was advised to continue her fungal nail therapy after the tests revealed no evidence of infection.
She was also informed that it would take a while for a new nail to develop, so she wasn’t concerned when, after several months, things hadn’t improved.
But by Easter 2023, things were becoming worse, so she made the decision that she wanted to speak with someone in person about this.
The Sun said that she was aware of the primary cancer warning signs, such as blood in the stool or the discovery of a lump, but that “no one ever tells you to look out for this.”
She could tell her doctor “knew straight away that this could be something much more serious” when she eventually had that face-to-face appointment.
Thankfully, her physician was aware of a rare kind of skin cancer known as “acral lentiginous melanoma.”
Which frequently manifests as symptoms under your nails or on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet.
Laura stated, “I just went into a state of shock,” as she was scheduled for surgery a month after her GP visit.
She has already undergone procedures to remove cancer cells, a lymph node, and a portion of her toe.
“My legs were trembling,” she continued. I was trembling all around. I am a single parent. I still have a lot of living to do, and I have a little boy.
“You know, anyone that receives a cancer diagnosis, your life changes in a second.”
The cancer was successfully removed by surgery, and additional testing revealed that it had not spread to other parts of her body.
However, she will still need to see a doctor for routine checkups for a few years, and even then, there is no guarantee that the cancer won’t come back.
Since “life isn’t a dress rehearsal,” Laura is pleased with the way her toe has healed and views it as “a daily reminder of how precious life is.”
