A dance teacher was diagnosed with skin cancer after she found a lump while stretching before class.<\/p>\n
Laura Farrow, from Whitstable, ran Limelight Stage School for 20 years.<\/p>\n
Whitstable dance teacher Laura Farrow with her class. Picture: EKHUFT<\/p>\n
She had no symptoms, but felt a tightness in her arm before a session and was later diagnosed with melanoma.<\/p>\n
The 59-year-old is now the first person in Kent to have pioneering immunotherapy treatment as an injection.<\/p>\n
The mum-of-one said: \u201cIt felt like a string was pulling my arm back. I poked around and then found the lump.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, I thought nothing of it, but I decided to get it checked just to rule anything out.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven after the biopsy, when I\u2019d Googled everything, I was expecting to be told it was breast cancer or lymphoma – I never dreamed it would be skin cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laura Farrow, from Whitstable, receiving her immunotherapy via injection. Picture: EKHUFT<\/p>\n
Laura had surgery at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford to remove 25 lymph nodes, and melanoma was found in five of them.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
This is being delivered by an injection every four weeks for a year, instead of an intravenous infusion.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cMy 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the same drug but just in a different form.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an injection every four weeks, and the aim is to supercharge my immune system.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, I\u2019ve had no side effects, and it is reassuring to know that if the cancer does pop up again, I am already having treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago, melanoma was a death sentence, but targeted treatment and immunotherapy have changed that, so I do feel positive.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is not known where her cancer originated and spread from.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s known as a cancer of unknown primary, and consultant Nick Williams told me sometimes they never find out where it has come from,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Laura Farrow, from Whitstable, found a cancerous lump while stretching before dance class. Picture: EKHUFT<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019ve had the most amazing care, and I\u2019m feeling very positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I hadn\u2019t been teaching, I would never have found the lump \u2013 I don\u2019t think any normal person would stretch that far! I think it was meant to be that I found it.\u201d<\/p>\n