FOR 10 years, Megan Grieves went back and forth to the GP more than 30 times, searching for answers.
A decade later the mum has been left with a giant crater in her leg, after doctors dismissed her concerns as ‘flaky skin’ and psoriasis.
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The now 36-year-old said it was her late Gran, June Evans, 69, who first raised concerns about a small freckle on her left leg.
And she credits June with ‘saving her life’ – after pushing her to seek answers.
Megan claims her growing mole was passed off as dry skin at every check-up and was prescribed moisturising creams to treat the flaky patch on her shin.
And despite the mole growing to the size of a 10p piece over the decade, the teaching assistant claims she continued to be given other ointments to treat a ‘psoriasis’ flare up.
It was only when June pushed for a diagnosis and Megan was seen by a different GP, that she was referred to a dermatologist.
In September 2016, at the age of just 28, Megan was diagnosed with melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer.
As time went on my mole got more scabby and flaky. It started off the size of a large freckle and went to the size of a 10p.
Megan Grieves
Megan then underwent two surgeries to remove the cancerous mole and check the disease hadn’t spread to her lymph nodes.
Horrifying photos show an open wound with the diameter of a cricket ball, where the mole and surrounding skin was cut out her leg to remove the cancer.
And after having a skin graft to cover the incision, the mum-of-two has now been left with a permanent ‘crater’ in her leg which she claims children stare at.
Despite being cleared of cancer in 2017, Megan now shares a post on Facebook every year to urge people to have new moles and changing skin checked out by a doctor.
She has also thanked her gran, who sadly died in 2020, for continuing to press for her growing mole to be taken seriously.
GRAN SAVED MY LIFE
Megan, from Leicester in Leicestershire, said: “I’d had a mole on my leg for as long as I can remember.
“When I got to 15 years old my grandma said she didn’t like the look of it and told me to go to the doctors.
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“My mole would flake and bits would peel off. I think over a 10-year period I went to see the GP about this mole around 30 times.
“I kept going back to the doctors and every time I would go to the GP they just told me it was dry skin or psoriasis and gave me E45 cream to try and prescribed me lots of different things.
“As time went on my mole got more scabby and flaky and would bleed sometimes.
They cut away a circle out of my leg and then I was left with an open wound
Megan Grieves
“It started off the size of a large freckle and went to the size of a 10 pence piece.
“My grandma urged me to go back to the doctors one more time as she was convinced something was wrong.
“I went back to my GP and that day there was a new doctor. He looked at my mole and didn’t like the look of it so did an urgent referral for me to the dermatology department.
“At the appointment, they took a slice out of the middle of it [the mole], stitched it up and sent me on my way.
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“I then went back to get my results at the hospital. They asked me if I had come on my own and I knew then that something was wrong.
“My heart just sank but I also was still very naive at this point and didn’t understand what could be so wrong about a mole.
“Then they told me it was melanoma, which is a type of skin cancer.
“The diagnosis impacted our lives massively. The recovery was really long and I was off my feet for a very long time.”
DEADLIEST SKIN CANCER
According to the NHS, melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer that can spread to other areas of the body.
Following her first surgery in October 2016, Megan was left with an open wound in her leg for 10 weeks as she waited for another operation to check the cancer hadn’t spread.
And after her second surgery in January 2017, she claims she has since been diagnosed with lymphedema and fibromyalgia, which leaves her with daily swelling and chronic pain caused by the melanoma.
Megan said: “My grandma has passed away now but she kept me going.
“If it wasn’t for her, I may have never got my mole checked out. She saved my life.
“They [the doctors] said they wouldn’t know how serious it [the skin cancer] was until I had the surgery.
“They cut away a circle out of my leg and then I was left with an open wound.
“I’ve always covered up and never been on a sunbed so it shows it can happen to anyone
Megan Grieves
“[In the second surgery], they dissected some of the lymph nodes in the left side of the groin and did a biopsy on these. Fortunately I was told the melanoma hadn’t spread and I was really lucky.
“I had a skin graft put over it now so it’s healed [the open wound], but I have got a huge crater in my leg and it almost goes down to my bone. If I knock it is excruciating.
“They also made me a prosthetic to fit into my leg because the hole was so big so when I wore tights, I could hide it but it was really uncomfortable and I tried to embrace the hole.
“But I now don’t have my legs out because of it as I am conscious of it and I notice kids looking at it.
“They told me one in 5,000 people would get lymphedema afterwards and then I got diagnosed with this in the same leg.
“I can’t even go to a theme park with my kids because standing in a line for a long time causes my leg to swell. The lymphedema will be with me for the rest of my life.”
DON’T GIVE UP TRYING TO SEE A GP
Since sharing her diagnosis on Facebook as part of melanoma awareness month, Megan has also urged people to stay persistent with GP appointments if you don’t think something is right.
Megan said: “The GP told me it was psoriasis for 10 years and patches of dry skin. This is what I say to people, don’t take no for an answer and go back to your GP again.
“I’ve always covered up and never been on a sunbed so it shows it can happen to anyone but by not wearing sun cream and sunbeds it heightens your risk. No tan is worth what I went through.
“What they tell you as a melanoma patient is that on the first day of every month you should check your skin in a mirror for new moles or changes.”
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Can you spot the cancerous moles from the harmless ones?
IF you’ve spotted a new mole or lingering mark on your skin, don’t be too quick to dismiss it.
It’s important to know what your skin looks like normally, to helps you notice any unusual changes.
The ABCDE rule can be followed to assess the health of a mole.
If your mole falls into the following, it’s worth getting checked:
- Asymmetrical – melanomas usually have two very different halves and are an irregular shape
- Border – melanomas usually have a notched or ragged border
- Colours – melanomas will usually be a mix of two or more colours
- Diameter – most melanomas are usually larger than 6mm in diameter
- Enlargement or elevation – a mole that changes size over time is more likely to be a melanoma
Most melanomas don’t give you symptoms like pain or itching.
Meanwhile, some non-cancerous moles or abnormal patches of skin can be itchy.
So having some of these changes on their own doesn’t mean you definitely have melanoma, but you should still get it checked out.
There are two main types of skin cancer – non melanoma skin cancer and melanoma skin cancer.
Non-melanoma skin cancer includes:
- Basal cell skin cancer – this is also called basal cell carcinoma
- Squamous cell skin cancer – this is also called squamous cell carcinoma
There are a few different types of melanoma too:
- Superficial spreading melanoma
- Nodular melanoma
- Lentigo maligna melanoma
Find out more about distinguishing moles here.