Many of us have spots and freckles that we just dismiss as harmless but for one mom a spot she discovered on her nose would turn out to be life-changing.
Mandy Pollard, from Cambridgeshire, England, noticed the mark on her nose two years ago and just kept dismissing it.
Even when she decided to consult the doctor she thought he would just give her some steroid cream.
But the doctor delivered news that the 37-year-old mom from Peterborough never expected. Mandy was told that she may lose her nose if she didn’t get immediate treatment.
Could lose her nose
Mandy was told by her doctor that the spot on the end of her nose was cancerous and was eating away at her flesh.
“I was just expecting to see the surgeon and be given some steroid cream or something,” Mandy told The Daily Mail.
“But when I got there he said I needed that bit of my nose taken off. I said to him: ‘No, no I’m not that bothered, I don’t want to do that'”.
Doctors told Mandy if she didn’t act to remove the spot, in 5 to 10 years’ time she could be facing the prospect of having her entire nose removed.
“He told me it was eating away at my nose. It was a huge wake-up call but I was in massive denial about it,” she added, according to the Daily Mail.
Mandy had the spot removed and had to have a skin graft, using skin near her ear, to repair the missing skin and flesh.
Youngest person
Now she has to wait to see if the operation was a success, if not she’ll have to have more of her nose removed.
“My surgeon told me I am by far the youngest person he has ever seen this in,” she said.
Now she wants to share her story to raise awareness and urge everyone to wear sunscreen when they’re outside.
“If telling my story makes just one teenager think about protecting their skin against the sun then I’ll be happy,” she told the Daily Mail.
We thank Mandy for sharing her story to help raise awareness and wish her a healthy and happy future.
Please SHARE to help Mandy let others know the importance of protecting our skin.