Rare cancer hidden behind moles

Having a mole on the forehead while pregnant, the woman in the United States did not know she had melanoma until she felt pain and was forced to go to the hospital for examination.

Bethany Greenway , 39, from Austin, Texas (USA), found on her forehead a small black spot during her second pregnancy in 2014. She went to see a dermatologist and was told no What is dangerous? The doctor said the cause could be hormonal changes during pregnancy. Greenway breathed a sigh of relief and found no other symptoms in the next 18 months.

When her daughter was nearly two years old, Greenway found that the black dot had turned into a large mole with pain. After several tests at the hospital, Greenway was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma cancer due to frequent exposure to severe sun without using any skin protection measures.

The doctors had surgery on the skin from thigh to Greenway, but her forehead could still see the scar quite well.(Photo: Caters News Agency).

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer derived from melanocytes . The disease can appear anywhere on the body, usually on the back, legs, arms, face and even under the fingernails. The most common sign of the disease is the appearance of abnormalities in the mole such as shape, size, color.

Greenway's case is quite special. She had desmoplastic melanoma , a rare form of melanoma. It is estimated that about 1% of cases worldwide have melanoma in this form.

Greenway was assigned surgery to remove the tumor on the forehead. She was not surprised because her mother had melanoma before that when she was young. However, the disease changed her face.

After the surgery, the doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to the bones and lymph nodes and Greenway continued to receive immunotherapy for six weeks starting in October 2016.

During this time, the 39-year-old woman always felt pain, lost her ability to taste food, had a hoarse voice, and her hair fell out after only 3 weeks of therapy. At the end of the treatment, she lost nearly 20kg because of difficulty eating and drinking.

Currently, Greenway's condition is almost completely recovered, and her only concern now is the rather large scar on her forehead. She did not dare to step outside without makeup and fake eyebrows. Greenway hopes that the scar will be completely resolved after the plastic surgery scheduled for later this year.