Woman who thought of skin cancer as blackhead left with gaping hole in her chin

Damaging medical conditions can be treated if identified in time, but things can easily get out of hand if important signs are ignored. In many cases lack of awareness or even superstition leading to a failure to seek medical assistance have caused severe consequences for patients.

A 35-year-old woman from California suffered painful consequences for dismissing symptoms of a deadly skin cancer as a blackhead. Kari Cummins ended up with a hole in her chin after tests revealed that she had squamous cell carcinoma which is a cancer that can spread to organs if not treated.

Removal of the growth which Kari had ignored led to a hole which took 35 stitches to close and weeks to heal. She now feels empowered as she can share her story with more people and help them identify similar conditions.

Kari’s story serves as a reminder for people to take unusual growths on their skin seriously and seek medical help before it’s too late.