She tried to get a GP appointment three times... now it's too late
When Nicola Smith first noticed a lump in her groin area, she thought she might have been suffering from a twisted hernia.
The mum-of-five, from Middleton, claims she tried to phone her GP practice three times in early May but was unable to get an appointment.
It wasn’t until several weeks later that she finally managed to see a doctor while accompanying a pregnant family member to hospital.
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The 50-year-old took herself to A&E where medics said they also believed she had a twisted hernia, a serious medical condition that occurs when a part of an organ or tissue becomes trapped within a hernia.
Hospital staff asked Nicola, who works at Greggs at Birch motorway services, to stay overnight while they carried more examinations.
Tragically, further testing revealed the mum didn’t have a twisted hernia – she actually had squamous cell carcinoma, or SCC, the second most common form of skin cancer.
“They looked at me and I was like, ‘What’s up?’ I thought it was a twisted hernia and they were just looking at me,” Nicola, whose five children are aged between eight and 28, told the Manchester Evening News.
“I said, ‘Listen, I don’t want to be messaged about this. I want the honest truth,’ but I never thought it was cancer. I was mortified.”
Sadly, after being referred to The Christie hospital, it was later discovered that gran-of-two Nicola’s cancer had spread to six of her lymph nodes.
She is currently undergoing an intense course of chemotherapy that began on July 18 and will continue for six months.
Following her first two treatments, Nicola made the brave decision to shave her hair off. “I had to shave my hair,” she added.
“It was just coming out in clumps. We got all the family round on a Sunday afternoon and did it.”
Nicola added her gruelling chemotherapy treatment leaves her feeling very weak. “I have to be in bed for days,” she said. “It wipes me out. I’m trying to be normal for the kids.
“I try to show them that I’m fine, I’m doing okay and that mummy’s okay. It’s been like a whirlwind. It’s just been horrendous.”
The lump in Nicola’s groin was not the first symptom she tried to seek medical help for. Back in 2020, the mum noticed she would bleed whenever she used the toilet.
Believing she had piles, she visited her doctor and underwent tests but claims she never heard anything back.
She also claims she sought advice for stomach pains earlier this year and was referred for a CT scan. Three weeks later, the mum returned for another examination when asked – but claims she was never given her results.
She now believes her unusual symptoms were all connected to the squamous cell carcinoma she was later diagnosed with. SCC is a type of skin cancer which starts in the keratinocyte cells in the outer layer of the skin.
Squamous cell carcinomas are more likely to start in areas that have been exposed to the sun.
They are slow-growing and only spread to other parts of the body if they are left untreated for a long time. Occasionally they can behave more aggressively and spread at a relatively early stage.
Squamous are mainly found on the face, neck, bald scalps, arms, backs of hands and lower legs. Symptoms include raised growths, scaly patches, open sores, brown spots and shrinking fingernails or toenails.
Having worked at Birch Services for 34 years, Nicola’s loved ones are now hoping to take her away on holiday once her “nightmare” ordeal is over.
An appeal set up to help fund the trip reads: “Nicola has worked her whole life, currently been at her workplace 34 years, she has always helps everyone around her - now I’m asking for little help for her.
“As many of you know the polite beautiful brave woman she is, I would just like to take a little financial stress off her due to her not being in work at the minute.
“Her one wish after this nightmare is over is to take all of her children away on holiday, which she would love to do if we get the news and results we truly hope and pray for every single day.
“If anyone would like to contribute towards this to take a little pressure from her then we would appreciate it so much.”