A woman who developed a sore patch between her toes has spoken about her horror after it turned out to be a deadly cancer.
Amy Jardan, who was 40 at the time of her diagnosis, said that her ordeal began when she felt an intense itching sensation between her toes.
She attempted to rid herself of the itch by scratching it, but it did not go away, so Amy looked closer at the area and could see a tiny spot with rings around it and rough edges.
“I thought, ‘That’s interesting. I’ve never noticed that before,'” she told TODAY.com. “I had an appointment the following week with my primary doctor for something else. I talked to her about this. She said, ‘That’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.’”
Her doctor referred her for a biopsy just to be sure, and Amy later received a phone call saying she had melanoma.
The specific diagnosis was a rare cancer called acral melanoma which can develop on the hands, feet, fingernails or toenails.
Amy said she was "shocked" by the news.
“I quickly sat down … I was diagnosed in 2015 January, February. My mom had died December 12 from one cancer. My sister was diagnosed six months before with a different cancer.”
She underwent surgery to remove the lesion and the tissue surrounding it.
A keen runner, she was forced to keep weight off her foot for a month - however, after a period of recovery, she managed to complete two half marathons not long after the surgery.
Amy has to undergo regular screening for any further skin cancer, but, thankfully, none has been detected so far.
“This has been my only skin cancer of any type,” she told TODAY. “I have other areas that have itched, which made me very (nervous).”
Amy is now seeking to raise awareness about acral melanoma and how to spot the warning signs.
The American Academy of Dermatology Association says that a good way to check for the disease is to check any lesions or spots for what they call the 'ABCDEs', as follows:
- A: Asymmetrical
- B: Unusual, scalloped or undefined borders
- C: Different hues of colors, including tans, browns blacks or dots of white, red or blue
- D: Diameter that is greater than a pencil eraser
- E: The spot changes or evolves in size, shape or colour
The NHS warns that the main cause of melanoma is ultraviolet light, which comes from the sun and is used in sunbeds.
Other factors that can increase you chances of getting the disease include your age and having pale skin, along with having a large number of moles and being from a family with a history of skin cancer.
It is recommended that you see your GP is you have a mole that has changed size, shape or colour, or has become painful, itchy, inflamed, bleeding or crusty.
You should also make an appointment with the doctor if you have a new or unusual mark on your skin that has not gone away after a few weeks or if you have a dark area under a nail that has not been caused by an injury.
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