I thought funny mark on my nail was damage from my acrylics – it was an early sign of killer cancer
But the mum is now urging beauty lovers to regularly remove their fake nails after it turned out to be the first sign of cancer.
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After popping off her orange, ombre acrylic nails in April 2023, Lucy noticed a black, vertical line on her left thumb.
The 35-year-old wasn't worried about the mark until a friend advised her to visit the doctors weeks later.
The GP referred Lucy to hospital for further tests over concerns the line could be a symptom of subungual melanoma - a rare type of skin cancer that develops under the nail.
It was then the mum-of-three was told doctors had found pre-cancerous cells that needed to be removed from her nailbed.
The teacher believes the cells may have developed into cancer and spread throughout her body if she hadn't spotted the mark hidden underneath her acrylics.
Lucy, from Hull, East Yorkshire, said: "I'd had my nails done and I ended up picking them off.
"I noticed a funny line on my nail and thought I'd damaged it by taking off my nails or I might've banged it or trapped it in a door.
"A straight, thin line just appeared and I remember thinking 'that looks a bit odd'.
"I'd had them on for about two weeks just to see friends.
"I was aware of it and thought 'I'll just keep an eye on it' but wasn't worried."
Horrifying time-lapse video shows how 'tiny mark' on your nail can morph into killer stage 4 cancer
When Lucy went to the doctors, before she even sat down, she was told the mark could be cancer and that they'd "need to send if off".
Lucy said: "I went to the doctors and before she even sat down, she said that it could be cancer and 'we'll need to send it off'.
"I thought I was just going to get told it's nothing.
"I got referred to a specialist cancer hospital straight away and they said they wanted to remove it as soon as possible.
"They took a biopsy and I was ringing up constantly to get the results. I really was scared. I could see every day it was growing and growing.
"It was really tough. My first thought was 'who's going to look after my kids like I can?'. That's what I was scared of. I didn't want to leave my kids."
'People leave it too long'
After the first set of tests proved inconclusive, Lucy underwent another biopsy of her nails that confirmed the presence of pre-cancerous cells.
Lucy said: "If left untreated, there was a really high possibility that it would've become skin cancer.
"It would've turned into subungual melanoma.
"When people see it, they just think it's a weird line and people leave it too long, which is why I think it doesn't have a high survival rate. Luckily, I haven't had anything since.
"I regularly have a check of all my nails now. I only rarely get my nails done now and if I do I only have them on for a week or so."
Luckily, Lucy didn't need any further treatment and is now urging others to check their nail beds for any abnormal changes.
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Lucy said: "If you see a mark on your nail, any changes, just get yourself checked at the doctors.
"The chances are it'll be nothing, but if it is something, the sooner you get seen, the sooner you can get it treated.
"The more you put it off, the more dangerous it can be.
"I have a lot of friends that get their nails done all the time and just get infills and I've always said 'tell [the manicurist] to take the lot off' so they can check their nailbeds.
"I always make sure everybody is aware."
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