I spotted a new lump on my body every day for a week – the cause was terrifying, I'm riddled

The Sun

19-05-2025

A WOMAN who found a new lump on her body every day for a week was terrified to learn the true cause.
Kaylee Engle was just 22 when she found a bump under her skin by her breast, which she initially dismissed.
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But when she continued to spot new lumps forming in different parts of her body, she knew something was amiss.
Doctors initially thought the lumps peppering Kaylee's body could be cysts.
But a chest X-ray found the true cause – stage four melanoma, which had spread throughout her body, including seven tumours in her brain, and more than 20 tumours in each of her lungs.
'I found out in the hallway of the emergency room, after being there for nine hours, and was in shock,' Kaylee, who works as a nanny and is based in Toronto, Canada, said.
'There were at least 20 tumours in each of my lungs – doctors were unable to count them all.
'They did so many tests, biopsies and scans – it was all such a blur.
'It was terrifying learning new information about my disease, which felt like every five minutes.
'And it was shocking knowing just how much cancer was in my body.
'They found seven brain tumours, at least 18 in my liver, and at least 20 in each lung, plus two beside my heart, and tumours in my spine and adrenal gland.
'It's so widespread – it's everywhere.'
Kaylee experienced some subtle symptoms in the month before her diagnosis - but the severity of her diagnosis came as a complete shock.
She said: 'I had been feeling off for the past month or so, but it was nothing super unusual since I had just moved, gotten into a new relationship, and had a lot going on.
'I had lost 20lbs without trying, and felt nauseous and threw up a lot, and found I was getting tired easily.
'But it was nothing severe.'
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Alarm bells started to ring in June 2023 when she found the lump near her breast.
Kaylee said, 'The following week, I found another lump every day.
'The first two were in my right breast, then I found one above my ribs, on my stomach and my neck – and some of my lymph nodes were swollen as well.'
She went to get checked out at a walk-in clinic, and says her doctor initially believed the lump was a cyst, and scheduled an ultrasound several months down the line.
But Kaylee grew concerned when she began vomiting again the following day and decided to go to hospital, where she had a scan that revealed she had cancer.
What is melanoma, what are the symptoms and how can you prevent it?
Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer that has a tendency to spread around the body.
It is diagnosed 16,000 times per year, and tragically takes the lives of 2,340 people per year.
The number of people being diagnosed with melanoma is increasing, and it is the 5th most common cancer in the UK.
But it is also one of the most preventable cancers, with 86 per cent of cases in the UK avoidable.
The best way to protect yourself from melanoma is to be sun safe - wear SPF every day, wear a hat and sunglasses and keep out of the sun in the hottest hours. It is also advised to avoid sunbeds.
People who are fair-skinned, have blue or green eyes, blonde or red hair and a large number of freckles or moles are more likely to get skin cancer.
Surgery is the main treatment for melanoma, particularly if it is found early. This will involve removing the affected tissue in the skin.
Radiotherapy, medicines and chemotherapy are also sometimes used to try and stop the cancer from growing. Treatment depends on the severity of the disease.
What are the symptoms?
The key thing to look out for are changes to an existing mole, or a new mole on your skin.
Most experts recommend using the simple 'ABCDE' rule to look for symptoms of melanoma skin cancer, which can appear anywhere on the body.
There are five letters/words to remember:
A symmetrical – melanomas usually have two very different halves and are an irregular shape
B order – melanomas usually have a notched or ragged border
C olours – melanomas will usually be a mix of two or more colours
D iameter – most melanomas are usually larger than 6mm in diameter
E nlargement or elevation – a mole that changes size over time is more likely to be a melanoma
A mole that changes size, shape or colour may be a melanoma.
But other signs to look out for include moles that are:
Swollen and sore
Bleeding
Itchy
Crusty
How deadly is it?
Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer.
The outlook of a person's disease depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed.
Survival is better for women than it is for men.
'We don't know exactly why this is. It may be because women are more likely to see a doctor about their melanoma at an earlier stage,' says Cancer Research UK.
The charity says that generally, statistics show that in England, more than 85 out of every 100 people (more than 85 per cent) will survive their melanoma for 10 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Around 100 per cent in England diagnosed with melanoma at stage 1 - when the cancer cells are only in the top layer of skin - will survive for five years or more after diagnosis.This drops to 80 per cent for stage 2.
Some 70 per cent live for a further five years when they are diagnosed in stage 3, which is when the cancer has started to spread to nearby lymph nodes.
At stage 4, when the melanoma has spread elsewhere in the body, almost 30 per cent survive their cancer for 5 years or more.
Cancer Research says the stage 4 data does not account for age differences. Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
What is melanoma?
Melanocytes are cells in the skin that give us the colour of our skin because they produce a pigment, known as melanin.
When you sit in the sun, melanocytes produce more pigment (a sun tan), which spreads to other skin cells to protect them from the sun's rays.
But melanocytes are also where cancer starts.
Too much UV causes sunburn, and this is a sign of damage to the skin's DNA.
The UV triggers changes in the melanocytes, which makes the genetic material become faulty and cause abnormal cell growth.
People who burn easily are more at risk of skin cancer because their cells do not produce as much pigment to protect their skin.
Those with albinism are at the most risk because their skin produces no pigment at all.
She said: 'I was concerned and felt like it was something much worse [than a cyst].
'I did so much Googling before I ended up in the ER and was convinced it was cancer – something in me just knew something was not right.
"By the time I was diagnosed, I was already convinced I had cancer, but even so, finding out for sure was a shock.
"But it felt validating that I knew something was wrong with my body.
"Before, when they were finding nothing, I felt so defeated because I just knew something was wrong."
'May never be cancer-free'
Kaylee soon started immunotherapy, as well as radiation to treat the tumours in her brain.
Though she received a stage four melanoma diagnosis and the cancer is widespread throughout her body, her prognosis isn't necessarily terminal and doctors are optimistic about her treatment options.
As of May 2025, she is undergoing another round of treatment and is currently stable.
The 22-year-old said she was healthy before her diagnosis, though she had several moles removed as doctors feared they could turn into melanoma.
Now, Kaylee is facing the prospect of being in continued treatment for the rest of her life.
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She said, 'I likely may never be cancer-free, but even just being stable is amazing news.
'There are so many more melanoma treatments coming out now, which is incredible, and there are a couple of trials that I may qualify for coming up soon.
'I will try anything to let me live a full life.
'But I'm just enjoying every day as much as I can and I have a lot of hope for the future, whether that be treatment ongoing, or becoming cancer free, which is the ideal goal for me – and which I know I can achieve eventually.'
She is now focusing her efforts on raising awareness on TikTok, where she has more than 10,000 followers and videos garnering millions of views.
Kaylee added: 'It's important for me [to share my story online] because I want to spread awareness for melanoma and also just advocate for ourselves in the medical system.
'I have had to quickly learn to advocate for myself, and I want to empower other people to know that they can do the same.
'We know our bodies best and should be listened to.
'As well as urging people to be cautious with their skin, wearing SPF, being careful of sunburns, avoiding indoor tanning, and doing yearly skin checks and getting things checked if we think something is wrong.
'Early detection for skin cancer saves lives, and although mine was not caught until stage four, that doesn't have to be the norm.'
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