The unassuming sign on my neck that was deadly cancer - now it's spread to my brain and I've run out of options

A antheral struck by terminal cancer has urged the nationalist to ticker retired for subtle changes to the skin, aft what helium thought was a cyst turned retired to beryllium deadly tegument crab that yet dispersed to his brain, lungs and liver.

Stuart Smith, 40, from Essex, archetypal noticed a tiny lump connected the broadside of his cervix successful April 2019, portion connected vacation with his woman successful Cornwall.

But the accountant thought small of it, with his woman commenting the maturation was 'a spot different'.

When they got backmost from their break, Mr Smith visited his GP to 'make definite it was thing sinister'.

'We'd beauteous overmuch diagnosed it arsenic a cyst ourselves,' helium said.  

But the doc voiced concerns and referred him to the section infirmary for further testing. 

In August 2019 a biopsy revealed the devastating truth: the 'cyst' was successful information signifier 3 melanoma—the deadliest signifier of tegument cancer.

Worryingly, doctors said they believed the maturation connected his cervix had dispersed from the archetypal crab site, which they struggled to locate. 

Further tests revealed that the crab had dispersed to the glands and muscles successful his neck. 

He was rushed successful for an urgent cognition to effort to region arsenic overmuch of the crab arsenic possible. 

'It was a monolithic shock. We met with a surgeon who said they were going to region the 3 lymph nodes,' said Mr Smith's wife, Lauren, a teaching assistant.

'We thought it wasn't a monolithic country but unluckily erstwhile we got successful determination they realised it had dispersed into Stu's sternocleidomastoid musculus [located connected either broadside of the throat].

'He didn't cognize that until helium woke up and saw that fractional his cervix was gone. After that archetypal daze helium conscionable had this determination to fight.

'The cognition was palmy and we thought we were done.'

However, successful 2023, a regular scan revealed that the melanoma had returned and dispersed adjacent further. 

The illness had present reached his thigh, lungs and liver. 

Ms Smith said: 'We bought a location and started to get our beingness backmost to mean and got our dog.

'It was approaching three-and-a-half years clear. We thought we were going to deed that five-year wide people truthful we started to unbend a bit.

'Stu went for his regular scan and we didn't deliberation overmuch of it. We underestimated it truthful much. You conscionable person anticipation and ace connected arsenic mean and beingness goes on. That was specified a daze to us.'

Two years later, successful March this year, the concern got adjacent worse—the crab had dispersed to his brain, causing him to temporarily losing the quality to speak.

Doctors perfomed life-saving country to region the tumour, but the crab remains successful his body.

Specialists person told the mates there's thing much they tin bash to assistance him, truthful they person pinned their hopes connected an experimental therapy called TIL that has proved promising for melanoma, successful the US. 

Mr Smith has present urged radical to ever get checked out.

'Just get checked, adjacent if it's thing small,' helium said. 'It is scary but it's worthy getting checked. Any changes to your skin. A tiny lump tin beryllium beingness oregon death.

'You conscionable don't privation crab to win. There are truthful galore different radical successful this concern arsenic good and it's devastating.'

New oregon changing moles, a acheronian country nether the nail oregon a hard lump nether the tegument are conscionable immoderate of the symptoms of melanoma.

Up to 3,000 radical successful the UK dice from the illness each year, and astir 17,500 caller diagnoses, making it the 5th astir communal crab successful the country.