How this woman's fingernails revealed she had lung cancer
For all its downsides, social media also has its major benefits – like the sharing of information that could be lifesaving. And that's exactly what one woman experienced thanks to Facebook recently.
Jean Taylor had noticed her fingernails were curling over, and was curious to see if anyone within her Facebook community had any idea what was causing it. She posted the below photograph asking for opinions, and was quickly urged by her friends to go and see a doctor.
'A tad extreme I thought,' Jean wrote in a subsequent post to a Facebook group. But as it turned out, it wasn't extreme at all.
'I was rushed for blood tests and a chest x-ray,' she explained. Following that, Jean underwent a CT scan, a PET scan, more blood tests, a breathing test, a heart scan, an MRI scan, and finally a lung biopsy.
After what she describes as a 'gruelling' two weeks, Jean said she was diagnosed with cancer in both of her lungs.
'When your nails curve its often linked to heart and lung disease and its official term is "clubbing",' she wrote, adding: 'I had no idea.'
While Jean – and, no doubt, a large proportion of people – were unaware that curvature of the nail could be an indicator of heart and lung problems, Cancer Research has a page dedicated to explaining it on their site.
Noting that finger clubbing actually occurs relatively frequently in some lung cancer incidences (35% of non small cell lung cancer cases, or 4% of small cell lung cancer), Cancer Research explains that 'clubbing is thought to be caused by fluid collecting in the soft tissues at the ends of the fingers. This is caused by more blood flowing to the area than usual', the information reads, clarifying that scientists don't know exactly why this happens.
It's always worth being aware of some of the other symptoms of lung cancer, which include a persistent cough, persistent chest infections, coughing up blood, aches or pains when breathing, breathlessness, lack of energy, and unexplained weight loss.
[h/t Hello Giggles]
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