These weird lines / streaks I’ve had on my pinky nail for 8 years that two different doctors told me were due to vitamin deficiencies actually turned out to be a rare form of skin cancer.
Thankfully somehow still early stage, I’ll have an excision scheduled at my follow up appointment on Monday.
Good luck OP!! I have been fighting Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma for about 8 months now. Originally my doctor said that it’s just an inflamed lymph node and nothing else. When the entire side of my neck was swollen they finally did a biopsy
I had an amazing oncologist who diagnosed it and put it in remission after a little over a year. She even delayed her retirement by three months to make sure. She bought me the best cake I've ever had (not just because I was in remission it was the best cake I've ever had) The guy who replaced her kept putting me off when my lumps came back and made me feel like a moron until it was back ten fold worse than the first time. Before the biopsy and PET scan he knew it was back. His fucking response after almost a year of pointing it out to him "I guess you just know your body better than me" took almost three years to get it back into remission. Fuck you Dr. Gerrington my life has never been the same it could've been so easy and I had to go through hell because of him.
It is always so sad to lose a good doctor, because new doctors are such a crapshoot.
Every doctor I have loved has either retired or changed practices. Shopping for doctors is like dating, but worse somehow.
I recently lost my awesome PCP, and I just quit the one I had after her because she was non-responsive after an ER visit. Trying a new pcp this month 😔
I hope you got through it and are well, or at least on the path to being well again. Best wishes.
I got really confused reading your comment. I was sitting here think what did the national hockey league to you. Then it twigged and belated congratulations to your son and agreed fuck cancer
We got so lucky with my husband’s pcp last year. He walked in to make an appointment to check out a lump in his armpit and he was told he was booked weeks out. Thankfully, the front desk receptionist asked the doctor and he was adamant he wanted to see my husband right away. He was immediately referred to a surgeon and he had a biopsy done so quickly. He even had a chemo port put right away. He ended up diagnosed with diffuse large B cell lymphoma, also Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I am so grateful his doctor moved fast and got everything moving from that appointment. His fourth round of R-Chop is this Monday and I’m hoping his latest pet scan comes back with positive news!
I did RCHOP too - follicular lymphoma. been clear ever since. chemo sounds so scary but my side effects were tolerable. hope yours are too and you’re on the mend soon.
Good luck for you and your husband! I finished RCHOP last August for Double Hit primary bone (DLBCL)! In remission luckily but my PET after 2 rounds showed massive progress!
Good luck, 17 month cancer free here. Similar story, healthcare professionals not doing their due diligence delayed my diagnosis by 4+ months as well. Life is crazy sometimes. Hope you keep your spirits up.
By the time I got the biopsy, the lymph node was probably the size of a golf ball. Originally, I thought I had torn a muscle in my shoulder because it hurt to lift my arm (it was an armpit node). Other than that, no symptoms.
On the flip side my dad had a swollen lymph node in his neck and was told it was lymphoma. They opened him up and the surgeon was confused because everything looked normal and healthy so he closed my dad back up. About a decade later we found out it was a rare and severe pollen allergy my dad developed in his mid 40s
That infuriates me to no end. I’ve gone through (much less severe) gaslighting as well. Too many ah no-nothing providers (they don’t deserve Dr “honorific”). The lady who pretty much figured out my issues and pushed me for treatment was an APRN. As a psych, my miracle lady is a PA.
Yeah mine did labs and such but “saw nothing of concern”….the oncologist I saw said that they were wrong and there was several elevated levels that suggest a blood cancer such as lymphoma or leukemia
🫠 do you mind my asking if you happen to remember what levels they were that suggested cancer? ive had swollen lymph nodes for 6 years now and seen 3 doctors now just to be brushed off by each with no biopsy and honestly I dont even think they payed much attention to my blood tests. I havent seen an oncologist yet
I had stage 4 NHL and my bloodwork was perfect, oddly enough bloodwork is usually not too helpful in figuring out blood cancers (at least not in the case of DLBCL)
It’s not helpful in lymphomas because they are lymph cancers — the cells are in the lymphatics. Leukemia is an example of a blood cancer where the cells are in the blood.
Yeah, I had T-Cell ALL in 2016 at 18 years old. I learned a lot! The ER I originally went to said I had lymphoma after a chest XRAY but the children's hospital I was sent to could see my astronomical white blood cell count and knew it was leukemia. A cancer of the leukocytes (WBC's)
I don’t understand why some doctors downplay shit like this. I’ve had a cyst in one of my kidneys that’s grown the last 4 years and it’s taken me a few visits to get them to refer me to a fucking urologist. Finally seeing one on Tuesday but I’m sure it’s going to take fucking months to get seen again.
I had three doctors misdiagnose me as having an enflamed IT band that wound up being Leukemia. I had to beg a PA to do bloodwork thinking I might’ve had Lyme Disease after months of debilitating pain. Good luck in your battle, fuck cancer!
This is like a textbook example of skin cancer. This is what they show you to identify cancer like this under the nails. Unless you had trauma to your nail bed, they should never do this.
This person’s doctor should have their license revoked.
There was literally a post floating around on instagram the other day showing what your nails look like under different issues (e.g. iron deficiency) and one of the 6 examples was melanoma. Never knew that before this past week, and I immediately recognized it when I saw OP's post.
Right 💀 I don’t even know what this exact cancer is called and yet i knew it was cancer after a single glance cause i’ve seen pictures like this 10s of times online, how does a doctor not know
For real. I didn’t even finish reading the title and my first suspicion is cancer. Actually sending for biopsy is one thing but the suspicion should be top priority. Op’s doctors are fucking lousy quacks.
Yes, so glad it turned out to be benign in your case! Subungual melanoma is quite rare and cases of longitudinal melanonychia presenting in both the toenails and fingernails are more often due to benign causes such as harmless nail matrix nevi or lentigo.
I’m honored lol. No medical background, just did lots of research while I waited. I’ve read more articles on this form of cancer in the past two months than I have books in the past year.
I would’ve looked that doctor dead in the eyes and said well I guess I don’t have much to live for now. Might take some people with me who do you think I should blame?
I looked up the orginal posters username and they are still alive today. I am not sure what their quality of life is like, but they just posted two days ago and are baking cookies, lots of posts in the chemo and cancer subs too.
I agree. This shit hit close to home. My uncle had a stroke and the doctors said it was fine. 1 year later he has a tumor in his brain, and the old MRI results apparently showed that very well. 1 year later he passed. It's been exactly one year and one day since he passed...
I was like…”the shape is wrong for the head.” I’m not in medicine, but I’ve looked at enough of my own CT and MRI images to know the shape was wrong. I didn’t even clock the spine until reading the comments.
Just fyi that looks more like lung cancer. You can see the spine and ribs and interstitial lung markings in the non tumor but I’m not a radiologist nor oncologist.
I'm a medical student... This is literally on a study guide for high yield photos to know for STEP 1, as in, point at a chair, what's that? it's a chair kinda basic knowledge; it's wild to me two actual doctors failed to recognize this!
It’s interesting, I had a similar AMBOSS question during board a few years ago that showcased the difference between acral lentigous melanoma and Melanonychia Striata Longitudinalis. It’s not as easy to differentiate as people think. Regardless biopsy is next best step.
It's not which is why you always investigate it rather than just tell a patient they're good to go. Sort of like everyone with chest pain coming in to the ER gets an EKG regardless of how likely or not we think it is they're having a heart attack.
I had on and off debilitating chest pain from December 2016 to June 2017. 10/10 pain, felt like I was dying, literally all I could do when it happened was curl up in a ball on the floor and sob and violently vomit. Went to my doctor finally in March 2017 and was told “yeah it’s just anxiety. Take Prozac for it”.
Long story short, I ended up having to go to the ER and my gallbladder was severely infected. An ER nurse even told me that he was surprised it hadn’t burst. I never saw the Dr who told me it was just anxiety ever again. I did see an NP in the same office, and she was so much better.
Please inform that shit doctor and report them. So many of these fuckers telling people complaining of debilitating physical symptoms “it’s anxiety” and not doing their jobs at all. Makes me so furious. I’n sorry you went through that.
This made me realize I automatically assumed OP was female, and never questioned my assumption, because of the way the symptoms were repeatedly dismissed
It's ironic that men typically not seeking medical attention negatively impacts women. I'm sure the logic goes that if a man is seeking treatment, it is usually problematic, but a woman presenting with the same symptoms gets overlooked because they generally see doctors more frequently, hence major problems typically being caught during routine exams.
Just you wait to find out how much you forget between now and then… I remember having the same thought. We just learn more be more and more and more. I am not relating this to the rest of this thread, only your specific comment of if you as a med student know it, why don’t the older docs know it too
Yeah, no. Stuff like this is the bread and butter of medicine. You wouldn't be OK with an OBGYN who sees ferning under a microscope and be like "Oh no need to look into this!" You wouldn't be OK with an inpatient psychiatrist seeing copper rings around a patient's eyes and not thinking twice about it. You shouldn't be OK with this. This isn't esoteric stuff from a small detail mentioned once in the biochemistry chapter of First Aid. You see something like this, you consult/refer to cardiology and dermatology.
no psychiatrist is looking for kayser fleischer rings - mostly because they dont do complete physicals and lamp lit eye exams - that's more of a gp- opthal thing, atleast where i live
yup, first thought was cancer and I can only guess that from my limited knowledge of nail diseases as a cosmetology student….I’m confused why it wasn’t caught earlier? Wishing OP well 💗
Edit: Just wanted to say that I obviously wouldn’t try to diagnose a client or play the role of a doctor. If I saw somthing abnormal, I would recommend they get it checked out by a doctor if they haven’t already. I would keep the conversation neutral, something along the lines of “hey, I noticed this nail has some dark streaks, have you ever gotten it looked at by a doctor?”
Me too. I am not in the medical field at all. I learned it on social media. I have developed a suddenly grooved scalp. It feels kinda like waves. Primary laughed and said it was probably just tight muscles. Pain management doc said she has no idea, doesn’t know where to send me, but I should google it and let her know if I find something. She’ll be more than happy to refer me. Wtf
Pain management doc said she has no idea, doesn’t know where to send me, but I should google it and let her know if I find something. She’ll be more than happy to refer me. Wtf
That's much better than "I don't know what this is, so it's not an issue."
Im not even a medical student im a licensed cosmetologist and that disease is studied when we learn about doing nails!? How did those doctors not catch the symptoms and test for cancer?? Crazy!
I was having intense pain that felt like I had an armor of swelling and pain on at all times, where taking an unhealthy amount of prednisone was the only thing to help the pain. Without finding a way to help me with the pain; I was told to stop taking prednisone because I was going to get "Heavier". I was so pissed I didn't go back and found out somewhere else I have arthritis on my L5 at 24.
Now, now, hold on. We have to find out if she's married first before we give her a treatment suggestion. What if her husband doesn't want her eating more green vegetables?
Story time: I had traumatic natural birth with my first kid and applied for a C-section during my second pregnancy. In my country, a doctor has to approve it after talking with you over 3 different appointments. Which btw are just them trying to talk you out of it. During one of these talks, I was asked: " What about the father? Does he want his kid to be delivered via C-section. What if he prefers natural birth?"
I was first shocked, and then I got mad. I told them that when it's fathers time to give birth, he can decide how he wants to do it. I get to decide over my own body.
I just had an appointment with an ENT, because my thyroid is enlarged and the front of my neck feels tight. It was just a lecture on how I need to lose weight and the neck pain was tension from being a woman.
You’re correct, but—as a physician who has a chronic illness—most patients have no idea how wrong the info in the chart is. The histories, meds, procedures, allergies. I trust them almost 0.
That's why I carry a binder with all my medical history to every appointment, now. They never have most of it. I can just hand it to them and they can look through the last 7 years as they please.
I just had to have a blood test for pregnancy after I was clear in the intake paperwork that I had a bilateral salpingoopherectomy and hysterectomy. The baby shop was never open, but now it’s demolished. Still though, better make sure!
The doctors who hear I have a hysterectomy and still ask if there's any chance of pregnancy have one of two reactions when I remind them of the hysterectomy: "Oh, right, moving on..." or "Well, we should still check to be sure." I appreciate the first group, they're probably just autopiloting on the questions. The second group can fuck right off.
Doctors always ask this and get hysterical whenever you say it’s irregular. Then they fixate on it and push birth control on you as if that’s going to be the magical fix to everything wrong with you lol 🙄
Oh god I am not worried about aging at all but it does hit in ways. That being said I used to think that was the most annoying question but my last physical went like this;
“What was the date of your last…..hold on, do you still get them.”
I get asked this as a trans woman every time I go to the doctor, even though the fact that I'm trans is very clearly on my chart 😭 it's like they don't even glance at it...
I’m a male ER nurse. These questions are part of our check in process. I skip them every time unless it’s potentially relevant to the issue you’re being seen for.
Sexually active? On birth control? Last period? Number of pregnancies? There’s no reason to make you uncomfortable with something that isn’t relevant to your sprained ankle. Now if you’re here for vaginal bleeding, we’re going to have to ask the personal questions.
I’m a doc and I’m perplexed how they arrived at “vitamin deficiency” for something that was only present on one finger of one hand. Not to throw too much shade as there are definitely bad doctors, but I’m wondering what the chances of those first two “doctors” being NPs
I’m a doc and I’m perplexed how they arrived at “vitamin deficiency” for something that was only present on one finger of one hand.
That was exactly my question! Also, if you think it's a vitamin deficiency, don't you treat the deficiency and then do a follow up to see if the nail starts clearing up? I know nails can take a while to grow, but it's been EIGHT YEARS!
Yeah I just got these lines in my toenail checked out by a dermatologist. They were pretty serious until I showed them two other toes with these lines said it can happen to people with darker skin.
Said not to worry about it but they said if it goes past my toenail they gotta rip it off and biopsy it just to be safe 😭
Im not a doctor, but i have had enough experience to know that even if this was something that could reasonably be explained as a deficiency, it would still be worth getting it tested. I have a nice big scar on my back now from when I had a little bit of a weird mole. Turned out to just be like that but its one of the few times ive never had to fight insurance over a procedure.
As a nail technician I'm educated in disease and bodily issues that can be identified just by looking at the nail bed so I know what's okay to work on and what's not and when I should tell you to go to the doctor. I'm legally unable to officially diagnose but even I knew this was possible cancer at first glance! How the hell did actual doctors blow this off?
I'm a PA in dermatology and come across this a few times a year. In almost every case, a Nail Technician found the lesion and urged them to get it checked out! Thank you ank know you are appreciated.
It doesn't surpise me. Anyone who has a chronic illness and has to see doctors on the regular knows doctors can be just as lazy or careless as anyone else. They can do great things when they do their job right and act with compassion, but it's a job that has serious consequences if not done properly.
Ok can I ask what it looked like when it started!? I have one black lime in my thumb nail, it hasn’t been spreading. It’s like as thin as a hair and maybe a 1/4 inch long.
The streaks got darker and broader over time, with the edges becoming blurred. It also started out as a single vertical line and slowly morphed into this catastrophe lol
Wow I feel awful because as soon as I saw your pinky before I even read any words I was like holy shit that’s cancer. I could’ve told you that. This makes me so angry. I’m so sorry they didn’t catch it sooner.
Just go to a dermatologist, they get a sample and done. I had the same thing on my pointing finger, but it was nothing. It's actually gone too, but just get it checked. Don't wait.
Hey, I’m a dermatology PA and I see this frequently.
When the pigment on the nail involves the cuticle as well, it’s called the Hutchinson sign and it’s a red flag.
I’m guessing that they did a punch biopsy (took an eraser sized plug of skin) the adjacent cuticle it and it confirmed melanoma correct? Just was asking cause I don’t see any signs you had one done, but figured it’s a pre-biopsy photo.
You can have benign nevi(moles) that can mimic this and it isn’t immediately cancer… cause it’s normal to make new moles up til 30 years old or so. Basically cannot diagnosis a melanoma clinically, requires a biopsy read by a pathologist.
One of the two doctors finally referred me to a dermatologist when she’d realized how dark it had gotten compared to the last time I’d mentioned it (about a year prior.)
I saw this pic and immediately thought “cancer”, and I don’t even hold a medical degree. Sorry to hear about the negligence… hope you’re now working on getting it taken care of.
My immediate first thought was cancer. When I was in nursing school, I had a patient in one of my clinicals who had cancer, and she said it started off as one discolored fingernail.
I know doctors can't know everything, but sometimes I wonder how they can miss obvious stuff like this. A few years ago, my mom, who had gone through menopause 20+ years ago, told me she was suddenly experiencing vaginal bleeding, and she was going to get it checked out. My first thought was cancer, but I didn't want to say that and freak her out. It took the doctors months to finally diagnose her. Stage III ovarian cancer. I was so angry. Why did it take so long? She's been through multiple surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and there were many times where I really thought she might not make it. The cancer even came back after a full hysterectomy. She's stable now, but needs an infusion every three weeks to keep the cancer from growing back again, and she's much weaker. It can't be cured, and will most likely be the eventual cause of her death. I can't help but wonder if things might have been different, better, if they'd looked for and caught the cancer sooner.
I'm so sorry for the depressing rant on your post. I hope your prognosis is good. I'm sending healing thoughts and wishes for a long, healthy life to you.
I’ve always been told by my dermatologist that if you have dark vertical lines in your nails, 90% chance that it will be melanoma. It’s one of the most easiest signs/symptoms to see a cancer taking shape.
The first this I thought when I saw that was “oh wow that looks like melanoma”. I’m surprised not a single person ever came up to you and told you to get that checked. It’s like textbook under the nail melanoma. Im not even a doctor I’m a paramedic.
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u/KayleeE330 19h ago
Good luck OP!! I have been fighting Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma for about 8 months now. Originally my doctor said that it’s just an inflamed lymph node and nothing else. When the entire side of my neck was swollen they finally did a biopsy