Mum left with hole in her face after mistaking skin cancer for a blackhead

Doctors bang on and on about not ignoring changes in your skin. One mum didn’t take her GP’s advice after noticing a strange mark on her chin and doing nothing about it.

Californian mum-of-five Kari Cummins spent years being a sun worshipper – even going so far as to use tanning beds.

Assuming that the mark was just a spot, the 35-year-old left it until it was too late.

After finally seeing a dermatologist due to the spot getting bigger, Kari was told that she had squamous cell carcinoma; a type of skin cancer that could have spread to her organs if left untreated.

“I have always had clear skin so I did think that the spot was slightly unusual,” she said. “I assumed it was a blackhead or a weird type of adult acne, as I hadn’t seen anything like that before. I have fair skin, and I did use tanning beds in my twenties and early thirties to get a base tan before going on holiday.”

“I wasn’t a frequent user, and only used them occasionally, but I’ve learnt that it doesn’t take much for the UV rays to accelerate the growth of the carcinoma, especially if you have fair skin.”

Having no choice but to remove the growth, doctors left Kari with a gaping hole the size of a 2p on her face. “It took 35 stitches to close up the hole and it took weeks to heal, I have now been left with a scar that is very noticeable on my face,” she added.

She has since noticed a few more raised lumps on her face and will have to have these removed after further tests proved the growths were cancerous.

Kari is now looking to stress to others the importance of looking after their skin in the hope that a similar thing can be prevented from happening.

“It just shows that this can happen to anyone,” she finishes. “Unfortunately, I neglected my skin and now I am facing the consequences. It’s also really important for people to be more conscious of what creams and lotions they are putting onto their bodies. Some are filled with toxic chemicals and these are just as bad for you.”

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