Mum’s ‘bruise’ under fingernail was cancer
A SCOTS mother who mistook a mark on her nail for a bruise discovered it was cancer after it was spotted by a beautician.
Stacey Boss had to have the fingernail removed during her cancer treatment and is now keen to highlight the symptoms.
The 32-year-old record label owner had been aware of a thin, brown streak lurking under the nail on her right thumb.
But she didn’t think anything of it until a nail technician spotted it during a manicure treatment and told her to get it checked out.
The mother of one was referred by her GP to a dermatologist in 2019 and had her nail and part of her bone removed in March this year.
She was diagnosed with subungual melanoma – a rare type of skin cancer that occurs under the nails. Ms Boss, of Glasgow, still needs follow-up investigations to determine whether the cancer has spread.
She is keen to raise awareness of the importance of people checking their nails for any abnormalities.
She said: ‘I didn’t know anything about how skin cancer could be in a nail bed. It was mind-boggling.
‘I’d noticed it for a long time and just kind of shrugged it off as maybe a bruise. It was like a streak, from the cuticle to the top.
‘I’d just got used to it and it wasn’t until someone pointed it out that it was a big shocking moment.
‘The nail technician possibly saved my life, she’s well trained and was very aware, more than me.’
Ms Boss jokes that she now gets a 10 per cent discount on manicures as she only has nine fingernails.
She added: ‘It was such a relief to have it out. I’d tell others to check your nails every now and again.’