A woman who had already battled cancer claimed doctors ruled out her now-terminal illness as a pulled muscle.
Holly Bedford, from Torquay, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer, in 2019, when she was just 27 years old.
But after the cancerous mole was quickly removed, doctors gave the early years practitioner the all-clear.
However, in March, the now 32-year-old man developed a persistent chest cough.
After failing to cure it with antibiotics, he visited his GP repeatedly, where he claims he was told it was due to a virus and then a pulled muscle.
It wasn’t until his fourth visit to the doctor, and after insisting on requesting a scan, that he was finally offered an x-ray.
Doctors discovered that her cancer had returned and diagnosed her with stage four melanoma, meaning it had spread to three other parts of her body: her neck, chest and abdomen.
Now Ms Bedford, who works at Southern Wood Nursery in Torquay, is urging young people not to ignore the warning signs, amid an explosion of cases of the disease among young people.
Holly Bedford, from Torquay, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer, in 2019, when she was just 27 years old.
But after the cancerous mole was quickly removed, doctors gave the early years practitioner the all-clear. Pictured with her twin sister Nikki at her bachelorette party earlier this month.
Along with bowel, breast and lung cancers, melanoma skin cancers are also increasing among people aged 25 to 49.
According to Cancer Research UK, the incidence of the disease in young adults has increased more than 60 per cent since the early 1990s.
However, cancer is also increasing in older adults, which is said to be due to increased exposure to UV rays from the sun or tanning beds.
Recalling his heartbreaking diagnosis, Bedford told MailOnline that the first sign that something was up in 2019 was that a mole on the right side of his forehead “just got bigger and darker.”
She said: “I didn’t think about it but I went and had it checked for cosmetic reasons as it had become more noticeable.”
“At first it was very light, but as it got darker it looked like a piece of chocolate on my head.”
After her GP referred her to dermatology, scans showed it was malignant melanoma and the mole was removed.
“They had to remove a little more skin from my forehead to see if it had spread. “But it wasn’t like that,” he added, and he thought his nightmare was over.
Then I underwent periodic checks. I visited the cancer nurses every three months. There was no treatment or scans, they were just body checks.’
A year later, he reported some chest pain and a scan showed he had an enlarged thymus, which is located between the chest and lungs, but no further action was taken.
However, in March, the now 32-year-old man developed a persistent chest cough. After failing to cure it with antibiotics, he visited his GP repeatedly, where he claims he was told it was due to a virus and then a pulled muscle.
It was only after she reminded her GP on her fourth visit in August that a scan in 2020 showed she had an enlarged thymus that she was referred for an x-ray. Pictured (second right) at Nikki’s bachelorette party.
However, in February this year he returned from a year of work in Australia.
After developing a cough in March, he was given antibiotics during his first visit to the GP.
When it didn’t go away, he returned to his surgery and was told he had a viral infection.
On a third visit he was diagnosed with a pulled muscle in his chest.
When the pain did not improve, she visited the doctor for the fourth time and was reminded of the inflammation in her thymus that was detected in a previous scan.
Only then was she referred for an x-ray and then a CT scan, which revealed the most Advanced stage of melanoma.
Every year, around 15,000 Britons and 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma, the most common form of skin cancer.
It is the fifth most common cancer in the UK.
Doctors discovered that her cancer had returned and diagnosed her with stage four melanoma, meaning it had spread to three other parts of her body: her neck, chest and abdomen. Pictured, Holly (left)
Now Ms Bedford (left), who works at Southern Wood Nursery in Torquay, is urging others not to ignore any worrying signs and to “trust their instincts” if they know something is wrong.
Despite enormous advances in treatment, which have seen survival rise from less than 50 percent to more than 90 percent in the last decade, it still kills more than 2,000 people a year.
Melanoma begins in melanocytes, the cells that produce melanin and give skin color.
However, it can grow quickly and enter the bloodstream, causing tumors to invade other parts of the body; This is known as stage four cancer.
At this stage, treatment becomes complicated: less than half of stage four melanoma patients survive more than five years from diagnosis.
Ms. Bedford was immediately prescribed a type of targeted cancer drug called cancer growth inhibitors.
They work by blocking growth factors that cause cancer cells to divide and grow.
‘This was because my cancer was in three different places and was aggressive. “I didn’t have enough time to have chemotherapy or immunotherapy,” he told MailOnline.
‘They are there to stop any spread and hopefully contain and shrink the tumours.
There are three types of skin cancer. Each one can present itself in different ways. These include asymmetrical or abnormal moles, scaly or dark spots, and waxy bumps on the surface of the skin.
“The hope is to then move on to immunotherapy.”
A CT scan carried out this Friday at Torbay Hospital will also provide more details on how Ms Bedford can continue treatment.
“We expect results on December 3. But for now all we can do is stay really positive,” he added.
Bedford now urges others to know what symptoms they should not ignore, in light of their shock diagnosis.
She told MailOnline: ‘Don’t put off getting your cough checked and trust your gut. Don’t be fooled.
‘I wasn’t feeling well and I was also iron deficient. My fatigue, pain, and loss of appetite should have prompted an investigation much sooner.
“I shouldn’t have had to remind you of my medical history.”
In October, her twin sister Nikki also set up a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise money privately for further treatment that could save her life and help her on a day-to-day basis as she is currently not well enough to work.
To date it has raised more than £14,000.
“Holly is a true fighter and a true inspiration,” Nikki said.
Holly has the biggest heart, she is super generous. Let’s beat this cancer, together we are stronger.’
It comes as scientists revealed in June that a skin cancer vaccine being tested by the NHS can halve the risk of dying or the disease coming back, new results show.
In the longest study of the treatment yet, melanoma patients who received the personalized vaccine along with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda were half as likely to be alive three years later.
The risk of the cancer coming back and dying was reduced by 49 percent compared to patients taking Keytruda alone, which is the current standard of care.
Developed by pharmaceutical giants Moderna and MSD, the vaccine is custom-designed for people using the specific genetic makeup of their tumor, giving it the best chance of a cure.