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"I was young, I was trained and very well physically, I never thought about cancer." Joshua Paschal simply that the mark on the foot was that, a point and nothing else. When he saw it for the first time, he ignored it. The idea of chemotherapy, operations, cancer has never crossed her mind. He had no chance until he started to feel pain, itchy and that he was sitting in front of the doctor in an icy office. He heard the word "melanoma" for the first time.
This is the most serious type of skin cancer and, despite the fact that is a football player who works with dozens of specialistsHe had to adapt his life to unexpected news. Play as a defensive lineman of the University of Kentucky (USA) team and his dreams of reaching the NFL, the professional league, have faded in seconds.
Pascal considered that it was a blood vesicle or a plantar wart and ignored the subject.
"I am an African American man, so I never thought of skin cancer as a possibilityPaschal said Monday in an interview on Today's show, "I really did not know what it was, so I had to learn more about it just to find out what's going on." happening. "
"I never knew I had to put sunscreen, I just thought that the pigment on my skin was enough … but in reality, you must put a lot of protection, you must go through these annual skin checks, because you never know what may appear on your skin, "he explained about his experience.
"I am an African American man, so I never thought of skin cancer as a possibility."
On the mark he found on his foot, he pointed: "It was as small as a point with a pen. I did not care too much because I thought it was a blood bulb. I kept playing football and exercising, and it was growing little by little, "said the 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Kentucky.
That's how Joshua's foot was.
"It is not unusual to have moles (or transfers in medical terminology) on any part of the body, including the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands," said Dr. Vishal Patel, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of George Washington University. "It's not because you have a place under your foot that it's a concern, though, skin cancer can hide there. "
"The fact that you have a place under your feet does not automatically mean that it's a concern, but skin cancer can hide it," Dr. Patel said.
At the beginning, Pascal considered that it was a blood vesicle or a plantar wart and ignored the subject. Over time, the black spot, under his big toe, has increased. When he reached the size of a penny and that he was surrounded by small dots, the boy was surprised. And when he felt the pain and the pain when he was running or having fun standing, he decided to consult a doctor.
After seeing him, he was immediately referred to a dermatologist for a biopsy. He was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma. It is a rare and aggressive type of melanoma, that is to say, skin cancer. In July 2018, football was a thing of the past for Paschal who, from one moment to the next, was forced to stop playing and undergo three surgeries followed by monthly immunotherapy treatments, that he still had to maintain. The doctors used a skin graft from his calf to repair the missing tissue in the soles of his right foot.
He was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma. It is a rare and aggressive type of melanoma, that is to say, skin cancer.
It was a hard blow, he had to relearn how to run with his right foot. And, although he has managed to recover and replay, he must continue his treatment.. "Some parts are numb," said Pascal, who undergoes skin tests, an ultrasound and a scan every three months.
"I think that my faith is what makes everything stay together, it allows me to stay positive," he said during the interview and conveyed his message: "What you notice in your skin that looks irregular, you should look at it".
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