A dance teacher was diagnosed with skin cancer after she found a lump while stretching before class.
Laura Farrow, from Whitstable, ran Limelight Stage School for 20 years.
Whitstable dance teacher Laura Farrow with her class. Picture: EKHUFT
She had no symptoms, but felt a tightness in her arm before a session and was later diagnosed with melanoma.
The 59-year-old is now the first person in Kent to have pioneering immunotherapy treatment as an injection.
The mum-of-one said: “It felt like a string was pulling my arm back. I poked around and then found the lump.
“At first, I thought nothing of it, but I decided to get it checked just to rule anything out.
“Even after the biopsy, when I’d Googled everything, I was expecting to be told it was breast cancer or lymphoma – I never dreamed it would be skin cancer.”
Laura Farrow, from Whitstable, receiving her immunotherapy via injection. Picture: EKHUFT
Laura had surgery at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford to remove 25 lymph nodes, and melanoma was found in five of them.
A full body check found no signs of skin cancer, but she will have immunotherapy for a year to teach her immune system how to fight the cancer.
This is being delivered by an injection every four weeks for a year, instead of an intravenous infusion.
She said: “My oncologist, Sarah Qureshi, explained how the immunotherapy would work, and I was excited but nervous to be the first to have it as an injection.
“It is the same drug but just in a different form.
“I have an injection every four weeks, and the aim is to supercharge my immune system.
“So far, I’ve had no side effects, and it is reassuring to know that if the cancer does pop up again, I am already having treatment.
“Years ago, melanoma was a death sentence, but targeted treatment and immunotherapy have changed that, so I do feel positive.”
It is not known where her cancer originated and spread from.
“It’s known as a cancer of unknown primary, and consultant Nick Williams told me sometimes they never find out where it has come from,” she said.
Laura Farrow, from Whitstable, found a cancerous lump while stretching before dance class. Picture: EKHUFT
“But I’ve had the most amazing care, and I’m feeling very positive.
“If I hadn’t been teaching, I would never have found the lump – I don’t think any normal person would stretch that far! I think it was meant to be that I found it.”
Laura is now sharing her story as part of Skin Cancer Awareness Month.
She added: “I feel very lucky it was only in my lymph nodes and nowhere else, and that Mr Williams decided to go straight for the surgery to remove them.
“It feels strange to know it could come back at any time, and it could be anywhere; life will never be the same, and it is always in the back of my mind.
“I have learnt so much about cancer, and the lymphatic system and how it works, but I haven’t really made many changes because I already had a healthy lifestyle as a dancer.
“You could destroy yourself with Googling, so I’m just carrying on with my life, but it feels like the NHS has its arm around me and is keeping a very close eye on me, and that is comforting.”