Warning: Graphic content
A woman has discovered she had a deadly cancer after ignoring a line on her fingernail for three years.
Alana Severs, 36, had covered the 'embarrassing line' on her nail, regularly covering with polish, but after reading an article about how a nail line could be a sign of cancer, she was immediately concerned.
Alana went to her GP and was urgently referred. After a biopsy, Alana was diagnosed with melanoma and had to have two surgeries to remove the cancer as well as her entire fingernail.
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Alana, a nurse, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, said: "Because it was just a tiny line I never thought anything of it and I always wore red nail polish to cover it up because I was embarrassed about it.
"Then reading this article made me panic. But I'm relieved I came across it when I did - it might just have saved my life.
"I sent screenshots to my partner in an absolute panic and said my nail looks exactly the same.
"I was terrified that I had cancer and couldn't believe that I ignored it for so long. I went to the GP the next day and it was an urgent referral."
Alana explained how medics told her she needed to get her nail removed before it spread into her bloodstream.
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She said: "By some miracle, although it had been growing outwards and the line was getting bigger, I was so lucky that it hadn't started growing down yet so I was cured with a few surgeries.
"It was literally reading an article that made me go to the doctors the next day. They said it was brilliant that it hadn't grown down into my hand.
"It had just grown outwards so it hadn't got to my blood yet. I was so lucky that after three years it hadn't done that.
"It was one of those incredible things that it hadn't, it could have gone down at any point."
Alana is without a fingernail, but she's grateful she caught the cancer before it spread.
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"It really shook me up that I saw it in an article. It was something that I had and I ignored," she said.
"I'd mentioned it in passing before but it was just rushed off. What I thought as a frivolous pastime, reading an article at 11pm, while I was in bed turned out to save my life.
"You don't think that anything like that would change my life. But my life was changed, just by reading an article.
"I could have gone another three years without thinking anything of it - and it could have spread and become deadly.
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"After the surgery I felt nauseous and it was painful for quite some time but it did heal.
"Now it doesn't bother me at all. I would rather lose my whole arm and get rid of the cancer than risk it spreading."
Featured Image Credit: SWNS