Just before Thanksgiving, 50-year-old Grace Garcia goes to a beauty salon to get her nails done. Her usual address is out of space, so she changes, and the manicure doesn’t quite go as planned, to the point that she’s developed skin cancer, tells the website WebMD.
During the treatment, Grace Garcia is cut on her finger. As she is not sure that the instruments have been properly disinfected before use, she uses a topical antibiotic cream to treat the wound for a few days. But his wound is struggling to heal, and eventually closes up forming a dark bump, the area becomes painful.
HPV-related cancer
Worried, she goes to the doctor who believes that the bump is due to friction from writing. It was only during an appointment with her gynecologist, five months later, that Grace Garcia spoke of this incident again and was advised to go consult a dermatologist. Especially since a kind of wart has developed in this place of his finger.
After a biopsy, it is revealed to her that she is suffering from a very common cancer, a squamous cell carcinoma, which is manifested by the rapid and abnormal growth of squamous cells (it is also called squamous cell carcinoma). Its most common cause is regular exposure to the sun as well as cabien tan. On the other hand, in the case of this woman, the cause is extremely rare: papillomavirus. This virus is often sexually transmitted, and causes localized cancers in the reproductive system if not detected in time. Usually, it does not touch the skin, which acts as a barrier. But according to doctors, the wound would have served as an entry point for the virus to settle and create a cancerous lesion.
They conclude on the importance of listening to yourself when you are worried about a health issue: if Grace Garcia had not insisted and consulted several doctors, cancer would surely have caused her to lose her finger.
Sources: Manicure Gone Wrong Leads to Cancer Diagnosis, WebMD, January 13, 2023.
