A woman was left with a wonky mouth and sizeable scar after an innocent skin tag on her neck turned out to be cancer that had already spread to her face.
Emily Sawyer, 38, said she didn't really think much of the skin tag on her neck and assumed it was a harmless growth of skin.
It was only when her work lanyard began to rub against it and make it bleed that Emily, from London, decided to go to the doctors in September 2019 to see if it could be removed.
After removing the skin tag during Emily's original appointment, the problem seemed to be solved. The skin tag was sent away for analysis but only as a routine precaution.
Five days later, Emily received a call to say that it was in fact skin cancer and she would need surgery.
In April 2020, Emily underwent 'Mohs surgery' a treatment for skin cancer on her face to remove a cancerous area found around her nose.
Skin was taken from the cancerous site along with a further one-millimetre area from around it, which was repeated until the extra millimetre is tested as being cancer-free.
The cancer on Emily's face was found during an inspection three-months after the original skin tag tested positive. The surgery which lasted over four hours - was done under local anaesthetic.
"After I got the diagnosis on my skin tag, I went back to the doctor and he had to check my entire body for moles and tags," Emily, a special education needs teacher, said.
"The doctor spotted a small skin-coloured mole on my face, next to my nose, and I went for a biopsy. This was identified as being cancerous so they performed the Mohs surgery.
"They removed the mole along with an extra millimetre around the edge. I asked the surgeon what could've caused this and he said it was just bad luck.
"It was quite strange being awake for it all, but the nurse chatted to me the whole way through.
"The removal part of the surgery lasted for around three hours. It then took a further hour-and-a-half to stitch me back up.
"After around four-and-a-half-hours, I heard the best words ever. 'No further treatment required.'
"The worst part was going through the operation alone. I planned to fly to my mum in Ireland for the recovery period but due to the pandemic, I stayed in London.
"It was quite painful for about seven-days after the surgery. My lip was swollen and I lived on icy drinks as my mouth was burning. It made it difficult to eat.
"I was shocked when I originally got the diagnosis as was my doctor. It was a very surreal moment as I really did only think it was an ordinary skin tag.
"I'm an active and outgoing person. I really enjoy the gym and sport and my job certainly keeps me on my toes. I didn't use sunbeds.
"When I originally went to the doctors, I was told it was normal to send them for analysis and that there was nothing to worry about."
Emily now has the all clear but is keen to encourage others to get checked-out if there's anything they're concerned about. Proactively seeking help is the right thing to do.
"The surgery has left me with a pretty sizable scar on my face but it's getting better every week. I have a wonky lip but I'm well and the cancer is gone. A wonky lip I can live with," Emily said.
"My skincare is like a military operation now. I cleanse with Caudalie cleansing milk and then use Superdrug's vitamin E hot cloth cleanser. I follow up with La Mer moisturiser and some SPF 30. I reapply SPF every few hours throughout the day.
"People always put things like this off and since it happened to me, I've had so many people message and say this was on my to do list.
"If my lanyard hadn't aggravated my neck I wouldn't have gone to the doctor. If there's anything unusual with your moles or skin tags, get them looked at."
