Jean Skinner has just greeted a new walk-in customer at her beauty salon when she was stunned by a dark vertical line that ran down the middle of the client's fingernail.
She told Jean that other nail technicians she had seen had told her it was a blood blister, or a lack of calcium, and that the only thing for it was to make sure to cover it with a dark colour.
Jean, however, knew better.
‘This is melanoma!!!’ she writes in a Facebook post, sharing the image with the client’s permission.
‘I did not want to frighten her but I told her she needed to see her doctor immediately!’
She goes on to explain that after the client visited her doctor she was told the tragic news that she did in fact have melanoma, and it had spread.
Jean is desperate to spread the word about not ignoring the condition of your nails.
‘Please pay attention to abnormalities in your nail beds!! Odd changes in your nails can very likely be nothing to worry about! But sometimes it is an indication of a very serious disease.
‘Early diagnosis can make all the difference in the world.'
This article first published on New Idea.
