Megan Grieves faced a tough health test when a mole on her leg, dismissed as scaly skin by doctors for more than a decade, turned out to be malignant melanoma. Megan, now 36, remembers attending more than 30 GP appointments since she was 15, when her late grandmother first expressed concern about the appearance of the mole.
Initially passed off as dry skin and then psoriasis, Megan was repeatedly prescribed moisturizing creams instead of undergoing a thorough examination. The mole on her shin grew to the size of a 10p coin, but the misdiagnoses continued. It wasn’t until another GP saw her and referred her to a dermatologist that she was finally diagnosed with melanoma at age 28 in September 2016, she said. Mirror.
Following her diagnosis, Megan underwent two surgeries. The first was to remove the mole and make sure the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes. Disturbingly, her removal left a wound as wide as a cricket ball on her leg, causing a substantial open wound that required a skin graft to cover. Despite the surgeries, Megan was left with a permanent “crater” in her leg, an indelible reminder of her ordeal.
The consequences of late diagnosis extended beyond surgeries. Megan developed lymphedema and fibromyalgia, which cause daily swelling and chronic pain. This has significantly impacted her quality of life, preventing her from doing activities such as waiting in line at theme parks with her children due to pain and swelling.
Megan’s experience sheds light about the critical importance of proper diagnosis and the potential dangers of ruling out persistent health problems. Despite being healed from cancer in 2017, Megan’s life has been irrevocably changed. Her grandmother, who passed away in 2020, played a crucial role in pushing for a proper diagnosis, which Megan credits with saving her life.
The ordeal has motivated Megan to share her story, especially during Melanoma Awareness Month on Facebook, to advocate for others to persist in seeking accurate medical evaluations. Her advice is poignant: “Don’t take no for an answer and go back to her primary care doctor.”
Megan’s story is a stark reminder of the importance of advocating for one’s health and the serious consequences that can arise from medical oversight. She emphasizes the need to become aware and vigilant about one’s own body and the signs it may show.
