'It’s terrifying': Mother calls for more research after doctors said her skin cancer was verruca
A mum of twins has described how she survived a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer which was initially dismissed as a verruca.
Beatrice Buckley developed a mole on her foot while pregnant with her twin sons Alfred and Thomas.
She said: “I fell pregnant in 2020, and in the really early stages of my pregnancy, I noticed a little dark spot, so bigger than a freckle.
“I thought it was probably a verruca but I’d never had a verruca before, so I went (to the pharmacy), to ask how I could safely treat it in pregnancy.
“They just said they didn’t think it was a verruca, but not to worry about it if it wasn’t painful and that it would probably just go away on its own. So, I suppose I put it to the back of my mind.”
In a matter of months, the skin lesion grew to the size of a 10 pence coin. The 39-year-old added: “When the twins were about eight months old it had grown in size.
“It started doing all of the things that you are supposed to look out for, it had doubled in size, it was bleeding, when I went running it was irritated.
“So I went to the GP thinking ‘this could be nasty’ but even the GP thought it was a verruca which had probably just rubbed in my running shoes. They only referred me to dermatology because of my skin type.”
Even dermatologists did not think the mole was anything sinister until tests revealed that it was a rare and potentially fatal form of cancer, stage three acral melanoma, the disease which led to the death of Reggae artist Bob Marley in 1981 aged just 36.
According to Cancer Research UK, only 1% to 3% of melanoma cases are acral melanoma, a rare type of skin cancer which is usually found on the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, or under the nails.
This type of cancer is more common among people with brown or black skin, middle aged and older adults.
Ms Buckley said: “It’s terrifying. The word cancer is incredibly scary. When you hear the word cancer, your mind immediately goes to the worst place.
“You do have thoughts in the middle of the night of your children growing up without a mum, and it’s awful.”
Doctors found that the cancer had spread to a number of lymph nodes.
But after three surgeries and targeted therapy, Ms Buckley is now disease-free and helping with a study called MyMelanoma. She was invited to take part in the study after signing up to the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Be Part of Research service, which matches people to relevant studies.
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Ms Buckley added: “I feel so passionately about research, because I feel like I’m one of the patients who has directly benefited from research because years ago, melanoma patients were only treated with surgery, huge clusters of lymph nodes would be removed, and that would sort of carry risks of life changing side effects.
“For me, I was able to take two tablets twice a day from home, it wasn’t a picnic, I was quite unwell last year, but nevertheless, now six months on from finishing my treatment, I’m here.
“I don’t have any residual side effects; I am well and I am cancer free. I feel so grateful to research for having brought these drugs to the market.”
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