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One woman had to be thumb-amputated after developing a rare type of skin cancer, which she said was due to the fact that she was biting her fingernails.
Courtney, twenty Whithorn said to have caused such a major trauma to his fingernail after biting it completely four years ago, that it has turned into acral lentiginous subgingival melanoma.
Courtney, who is oAccording to Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, who moved to the Gold Coast in Australia nine years ago, she started biting her nails at school, but one day she managed to rinse her nails.
Credit: Caters
The highlight turned black, but Courtney says she was too embarrassed to show her to her friends and family.
She finally saw a doctor, who gave her the shocking news that she had cancer and had to undergo surgery. However, despite several attempts to save the thumb, it was completely removed last week.
Courtney said, "When I discovered that biting my nail was the cause of cancer, it broke me.
"In my head, I thought," I did that to myself, "but obviously I knew I did not have to have that mentality, I could not believe it.
"When you think about it, how many children are biting their nails, that's crazy.
"I bit Four years ago, I felt very conscious of the dark.
"My hand was just constantly in the fist because I did not want anyone to see it – not even my parents.
"I was a little scared when my skin started to flow black, so I showed them for the first time this year.
"I can not even explain how much I was aware of myself – I always had fake nails to hide it because it was black." It was like paper every time he pushed back.
Credit: Caters
"I went to the doctors because my skin started to spin black, but I went for aesthetic reasons and my GP referred me to a plastic surgeon.
"I saw two plastic surgeons, and they thought to remove my nail bed to get rid of the black and then put a skin graft on at least for that skin Color – I was happy about that.
"But before my first surgery to remove the nail bed, the doctors were able to find that something was wrong and decided to do a biopsy.
"I had to wait six the week for the results. They were sent to Sydney because they could not tell if the biopsy was malignant or benign.
"The result is back uncertain, The surgeons therefore wanted to be safe and remove the entire nail bed and any trace of black.
"They did more tests and when these results came back, it was said that it was a malignant melanoma that was very rare, especially for someone of my age and size.
"I was visibly shocked at not believing at all, my mother burst into tears."
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Once the nail bed removed, she underwent tests and it turned out that she had no more cancer cells – but Courtney was still not there at end. It was then told that the protocol for this type of cancer was amputation.
She added: "The plastic surgeon has sent me a text message saying that the protocol for this melanoma, because it is so rare, is an amputation.
"I had a panic attack at work, I read the word" amputation "and I ran out – I could not breathe.
"My mother had to come to my job, my boss was tying my hair and my shirt, I panicked – we had never even talked about amputation.
"We went to see a melanoma specialist who also acknowledged that amputation was a protocol because it was such a rare cancer.
"I entered for a third operation and the doctor told me that if he saw anything cancerous, he should take it all the way.
"So, I fell asleep not knowing if I was going to wake up with my thumb or not. When I woke up and that it was still The, and I was so happy.
"I also had two lymph nodes removed to check whether the cancer had spread or not." The pigmentation of my thumb had traveled and it was dark, but none of the malignant cells had traveled yet.
"Literally everything we caught it, we caught it just when it was going to happen to the rest of my body – the timing is everything.
"Because she had started traveling, the only remaining option was amputation, but this time, I was much more prepared for this news.
"I was not afraid to go to amputation surgery – I was more nervous because I'm not a big fan of needles and stuff."
Now, she has to wait for the results of her last surgery and, if she is told clearly, she will be monitored for the next five years, including blood tests and regular tests.
Credit: Caters
"There is not enough research to say what is the survival rate or what is the likelihood that it will come back because – we just do not know much about it" Courtney I said. "I just cry every time it's been mentioned.
"The location of the cancer in my thumb is unknown, so if it shows again, they will have to continue cutting until we get a clear result."
According to the NHS, acral lentiginous melanoma is a rare type of melanoma d & # 39; habit occurs on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. They can also sometimes grow around a nail, most often the thumbnail or the big nail.
Acral lentiginous melanoma is the most common type of melanoma in people with dark skin, but it can occur in people of all skin types.
Melanoma is caused by skin cells that start to develop abnormally, some things can increase your risk like having pale skin, red hair, having a lot of moles or freckles or having a family member who has had it.
Image credit: Caters
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