A woman develops skin cancer after cutting her toenails

A simple trip to the manicure – including a deep cut in the cuticle area – gave a resident of California (USA) skin cancer.

Grace Garcia, 50, used to go to the same manicurist every time, but in late 2021, with the pre-Thanksgiving rush, she headed to another salon that looked “upscale.”

“Is he there [manicure] My wound, and the wound was not just a normal cut in the skin. It hurt me deeply and it was one of the first times this happened to me,” Grace told NBC’s “Today” show.

The client also states that she cannot verify at that moment that the professional uses sterile instruments.

The cut turned out to be an injury that “never got better,” according to Grace, but it wasn’t that bad.

She resorted to an antibiotic ointment, but it continued to swell on her injured finger.

At the time, the woman decided to see a doctor, but was diagnosed with a “writing nail,” something she considered inappropriate, since she did not use her ring finger when writing.

In April 2022, Grace goes to her gynecologist, who suggests she see a dermatologist. The latter only told her to watch the injury.

The wound developed from a bulge to an open wound and then to a wart. That’s when she went back to another dermatologist and had a biopsy. “I knew it wasn’t good,” he told him “today.”

What was found was squamous cell carcinoma, which is a common type of skin cancer.

Although this type of tumor is very common due to sun exposure, doctors found in Grace’s case something unusual: The cancer was caused by HPV, the human papillomavirus.

“It’s very rare for a number of reasons. In general, the strains that cause cancer from the point of view of HPV tend to be sexually transmitted,” explained dermatologist Teo Solimani, who treated Grace.

According to the expert, the injury caused by the pliers on the patient’s finger “became the gateway” for the virus.

He added that the thick skin that we have on our hands and feet, which acts as a natural barrier against infections and the like, disappeared, and the virus was able to infect her skin.

The doctor commented that discovering the cancer in its early stages “may have saved her from amputating her finger.”

She underwent surgery that used a technique that allows the doctor to see 100% of the edge of the tumor and remove it completely, ensuring a “high cure rate” without removing too much skin.

Soleimani also recommended that anyone who has a skin growth that does not go away within four weeks should see a doctor. Additionally, he recommends getting vaccinated against HPV as a way to reduce your risk.

Nail cancer, specifically, is a different type than Grace’s cancer. for him It can be confused, for example, with mycosis.

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