'My doctor told me the mark on my toenail was an infection - but it was cancer'

A woman has told of how her doctor told her a mark on her toenail was an infection - but it turned out to be cancer. Laura Jennings, 40, from Leeds, said she has never been so scared and worried that she would not get to see her son get married. She noticed a dark mark underneath her nail in April 2022, and at first thought she might have bruised it somehow. But the nail then started to disintegrate, so Ms Jennings booked a telephone appointment with her GP.

She was initially told that it was a fungal nail infection, and was given antifungal ointment. After a year passed, she pressed for a face to face appointment as her toe had got worse despite the treatment. This time, her medic recognised that it was worse than a simple infection, and tests confirmed Ms Jennings in fact had acral lentiginous melanoma, an uncommon form of skin cancer that appears under nails or on the soles and palms.

Ms Jennings told the MailOnline that she went into a state of shock upon being diagnosed. She added: "I was taking my son to swimming lessons, wondering if that was going to be the last one I would take him to.

"I couldn't help thinking, 'What if I don't see him through school? What if I'm not here for him if he gets married? What if I never get to be a grandma?'

"It was like my body had turned against me. I'd never been so scared that my life could be taken away without me wanting it."

Ms Jennings underwent surgery to remove her nail and as much of the tumour as possible.

Then, part of her toe was amputated to remove the cancerous cells, before a lymph node in her groin was removed in order to check if the cancer had spread.

Fortunately, more tests showed that the surgery was successful, and the cancer was no longer present, nor had it spread.

However, the mother now faces five more check-ups over the next three years before she can be considered cancer-free.