The Leicester mum left with a huge ‘crater’ in her leg after doctors ruled out cancer

A woman was left with a large ‘crater’ in her leg after she claimed doctors mistook her cancer for ‘flaky skin’ for ten years – but it was her late grandmother who knew better and ‘saved her’ life”. Megan Grieves says she has attended more than 30 GP appointments over the course of a decade following concerns raised by her late grandmother June Evans, 69, about a small mole on her left leg.

Megan, now 36, says at every checkup her growing mole was dismissed as dry skin and she was prescribed moisturizers to treat the patch on her shin. Despite the mole expanding to the size of a tenpence piece over the decade, the nurse claims she continued to be given other ointments to treat a ‘psoriasis’ flare-up.

It wasn’t until June insisted on a diagnosis and Megan saw another GP that she was referred to a dermatologist and diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer aged 28 in September 2016. Megan then underwent two operations surgery to remove the mole and check if the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.

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Disturbing pictures reveal an open wound the size of a cricket ball where the mole and surrounding skin was excised from the leg to remove the cancer. After undergoing a skin graft to cover the incision, the mother-of-two now has a permanent “crater” in her leg which she says catches the eye of children.

Megan, from Leicester, became an advocate for skin cancer awareness after her own ordeal with a misdiagnosed mole that turned out to be cancerous. Despite being given the go-ahead in 2017, she takes to Facebook annually to encourage others to have new or changing moles examined by a professional, reports Hull Live.

She also pays tribute to her grandmother, who died in 2020, for constantly urging her to seek medical advice about her mole.

Reflecting on her experience, Megan shared, “I’ve had a mole on my leg for as long as I can remember. When I turned 15, my grandmother said she didn’t like the look and told me to leave. at the doctor.”

She continued, detailing her many visits to the GP: ‘My mole would flash and pieces would come off. I think over a period of 10 years I have been to the GP about this mole about 30 times. I kept going back to the doctors. and every time I went to the GP they said it was dry skin or psoriasis and gave me E45 cream to try and prescribed lots of different things.”

Megan described the changes in her mole: “As time went on, my mole became grittier and flaky and sometimes bled. It started out the size of a large freckle and ended up being the size of a ten pence piece.”

She recounted the pivotal visit to the family doctor that led to her diagnosis: “My grandmother urged me to go back to the doctor one more time because she was convinced that something was wrong. I went back to my GP and there was a new doctor that day. He looked at my mole and didn’t like the look of it, so he rushed me to the dermatology department.

“At the appointment, they took out a slice in the middle (the mole), sewed it up and sent me on my way. Then I went back to get my results at the hospital. They asked me if I had progressed. a mine and I knew then that something was wrong.

“My heart sank, but I was still very naive at this point and didn’t understand what could be so wrong with a mole. Then they told me it was melanoma, which is a type of skin cancer. The diagnosis affected our lives. massive Recovery was very long and I was on my feet for a very long time.”

According to the NHS, melanoma is a type of skin cancer that can spread to other organs in the body, the main cause being exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun or sunbeds. After the initial operation in October 2016, Megan had to endure an open wound on her leg for 10 weeks while she waited for further surgery to ensure the cancer had not spread.

After undergoing a second surgery in January 2017, Megan claims she was diagnosed with lymphedema and fibromyalgia, conditions that cause daily swelling and chronic pain, which she attributes to the melanoma. Reflecting on her journey, Megan shared, “My grandmother is now dead, but she kept me going. If it wasn’t for her, I might never have gotten my mole checked. He saved my life.

“They said they wouldn’t know how bad it was until I had surgery. They cut a circle out of my leg and then I was left with an open wound.

“They dissected some of the lymph nodes on the left side of the groin and biopsied them (in the second surgery). Fortunately, I was told that the melanoma had not spread and that I was very lucky. I had a skin graft. over it now so it’s healed but I have a huge crater in my leg and it almost goes to the bone If I hit it it’s excruciating.

“They also made me a prosthetic to fit in 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 hug the hole. But now I don’t have my legs. because of that, because I’m aware of it and notice that kids are looking at him.

“They told me one in 5,000 people will get lymphedema afterwards and then I was diagnosed with it in the same leg. I can’t even go to a theme park with my kids because standing in line for a long time hurts my leg. lymphedema will be with me for the rest of my life.”

After sharing her diagnosis on Facebook during Melanoma Awareness Month, Megan encouraged others to stick with their GP appointments if they feel something is wrong.

Megan said: “My GP told me it was psoriasis for 10 years and patches of dry skin. This is what I tell people: “Don’t take no for an answer and go back to your GP again.” covered and never been on a sun lounger so it shows it can happen to anyone but not wearing sun cream and sun loungers increases your risk. No bronze is worth what I went through.

“What I 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.”