A worrying story has emerged and one which everyone would do well to take notice of.
A man who stubbed his toe in 2009 was told seven years later he had terminal skin cancer, due to the knock.
Roland Monger, 36, was walking to work in the snow in 2009 when he slipped and broke his ankle leaving his foot in a plaster cast with his toe exposed.
He then stubbed his protruding toe on a step and, despite the it going bloody and black, he thought nothing of it and carried on with his life, as most people would. Badly stubbing your toe happens to people quite regularly.
However, medical staff found a tumour in his groin, which they traced back to the stubbing of the toe years ago, and told him he might only live a for another year, without treatment.
The tumour was diagnosed as a form of skin cancer, called malignant metastatic melanoma. It is caused where melanoma cells spread through the lymph nodes to distant sites in the body and/or to the body’s organs.
Although it had spread to the groin, it was still classed as skin cancer.
Doctors told him that while 80 per cent of skin cancers are caused by sun exposure the other 20 per cent come from traumas, like hitting a limb really hard.
Fortunately, the cancer appears to have been spotted just in time and almost a year on Roland is now recovering. Luckily the lymphatic system in his body had prevented the cancer from spreading towards his vital organs and the tumour was successfully removed.
He has undergone radiotherapy and is back at work, although he still needs regular checks.
Roland, a university admission manager from Torpoint, Cornwall, said:
“It was a pretty horrible feeling. I was shell-shocked.
“It’s a bit of a mystery. I was living in London and I was making my way to work in the snow and I slipped and broke my ankle.
“My foot was in a cast but my toe was exposed and I slammed it into a step.
“It was black and bloody and was giving me a few problems so I got it checked out.
“Although a lot has happened since, stubbing my toe was the trigger point for my cancer.
“The cause was traced back through medical records and a biopsy.”