A MUM was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer when she was 35 weeks pregnant with her fourth child – noticing an unusual sign on her fingernail was the beginning of her long cancer battle.
Kelly Heather, 38, has endured an almost eight-year battle with cancer after spotting an unusual line on her fingernail back in 2017.
Initially, the mum-of-four, from Gravesend, Kent, was told there were “no cancer cells showing” but was monitored every three months.
Over that period the line got darker and thicker – and she was eventually diagnosed with melanoma.
Kelly had her nail bed removed at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead and was told the surgery had gone well with no cancer left behind.
But within six months, something which looked like a verruca appeared at the end of the finger, signalling that the cancer had returned.
When she was told she might need to have her finger partially amputated, she said to the doctor: “Whatever you need just take it. I’d rather that than it spread anywhere else.”
In March 2020, Kelly’s fingertip was finally removed and she was given the “all-clear”.
She pushed for a further scan to ensure no cells were left behind, but as Queen Victoria Hospital had categorised her cancer as stage 0 (non-spreadable), this was refused.
But in August 2022, Kelly discovered a lump in her armpit. The cancer had returned and spread to her lymphatic system.
The mum underwent a major surgery in which 20 lymph nodes were removed.
She was told only one of them had metastatic malignant melanoma – a type of skin cancer which has spread to a different part of the body.
By October 2023, following a year of immunotherapy at Maidstone Hospital, Kelly’s scans were coming back clear again.
She was told she didn’t require a second year of immunotherapy and was classed as in remission in April 2024 – just two weeks before she found out she was pregnant.
But at 35 weeks pregnant, Kelly found she couldn’t lift her left leg properly.
She said: “My leg started flicking out and shaking uncontrollably, and within not even a minute, I was having a full seizure in the kitchen.
“I honestly thought I had died. I thought I was dying and all I could think was my kids have lost their mum and my baby is going to die.
“It’s one of the most traumatic things I’ve ever gone through.
“I’ll never forget that day.”
Stage 4 melanoma brain cancer
Kelly was diagnosed with a brain tumour which was later confirmed as stage 4 melanoma brain cancer.
She gave birth to her fourth child Te-Jay via c-section on December 9, and less than 10 days later, underwent brain surgery to remove the tumour.
She said: “They removed most of the tumour, but they couldn’t remove all of it without causing permanent paralysis to my left side.
“So, a small part was left behind, which is why I have to have the targeted radiotherapy to kill the remaining tumour left in the brain.”
With a newborn to look after, Kelly is starting a new treatment which includes two separate immunotherapy drugs.
She said: “It is the only treatment that is available.
I don’t think I’ve fully accepted that I have terminal cancer
Kelly Heather
“There’s a 50 per cent chance it will work for me. It’s very much hit and miss so it’s quite scary.
“I don’t think I’ve fully accepted that I have terminal cancer.
“Really, I should have continued to have the second year of treatment and that would have probably kept it at bay.
“But now, with it being metastatic, it’s already spread from my brain through my lymph system, and I’m waiting for where it’s going to show up next.”
Kelly has been told there’s a 25 per cent chance the cancer could have spread to her baby via the placenta.
Tests have come back clear so far but Te-Jay is being regularly monitored at Guy’s Hospital.
Kelly added: “It’s just another worry. No mum would ever want to think that they’ve possibly spread a cancer to their baby.”
Pushing for further testing
Despite her diagnosis, Kelly is determined to “stay positive” for her partner Tom Woodcock, and four children Preston, 17, Brendan, 15, Rhea, 7, and Te-Jay.
She also wants to speak out about further testing – as she believes her now stage 4 cancer may have been detected earlier if she had been granted another scan – despite her cancer being classed as stage 0.
Kelly said: “I was told so many times I was cancer free – or that my cancer wasn’t going to spread.
“I tried to push for more scans but I was told no. I wish I had been that annoying patient who kept going.
“Now I’m in a position where I’m worried about leaving my kids without a mum. And we’re having to have really difficult conversations about the future.
“I just never thought I’d be here.”
She also said: “I am pushing for further testing to be given regardless of what stage you are at.
“Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and it doesn’t follow rules of what all the other cancers follow.
“They wouldn’t give me that extra peace of mind by having those further scans, and I think [the cancer] would have been picked up a lot earlier, before it went into my lymph system, which is where it spread quite quickly.
“I do wonder what would have happened if I got that one scan I begged for.
“I feel things could have been dealt with differently and I might be in a different position to what I am now.”
To help Kelly and her family through this difficult time, a GoFundMe has been set up. You can donate here.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said: “Ensuring patients receive the right personalised cancer treatment as quickly as possible is our priority.
“While we are unable to comment on individual cases, we encourage any patient who may have a question or concern to speak to the clinical teams providing their care or our Patient Advice and Liaison Service.”
Queen Victoria Hospital has been contacted for a comment.
What is melanoma, what are the symptoms and how can you prevent it?
Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer that has a tendency to spread around the body.
It is diagnosed 16,000 times per year, and tragically takes the lives of 2,340 people per year.
The number of people being diagnosed with melanoma is increasing, and it is the 5th most common cancer in the UK.
But it is also one of the most preventable cancers, with 86 per cent of cases in the UK avoidable.
The best way to protect yourself from melanoma is to be sun safe – wear SPF every day, wear a hat and sunglasses and keep out of the sun in the hottest hours. It is also advised to avoid sunbeds.
People who are fair-skinned, have blue or green eyes, blonde or red hair and a large number of freckles or moles are more likely to get skin cancer.
Surgery is the main treatment for melanoma, particularly if it is found early. This will involve removing the affected tissue in the skin.
Radiotherapy, medicines and chemotherapy are also sometimes used to try and stop the cancer from growing. Treatment depends on the severity of the disease.
What are the symptoms?
The key thing to look out for are changes to an existing mole, or a new mole on your skin.
Most experts recommend using the simple “ABCDE” rule to look for symptoms of melanoma skin cancer, which can appear anywhere on the body.
There are five letters/words to remember:
- Asymmetrical – melanomas usually have two very different halves and are an irregular shape
- Border – melanomas usually have a notched or ragged border
- Colours – melanomas will usually be a mix of two or more colours
- Diameter – most melanomas are usually larger than 6mm in diameter
- Enlargement or elevation – a mole that changes size over time is more likely to be a melanoma
A mole that changes size, shape or colour may be a melanoma.
But other signs to look out for include moles that are:
- Swollen and sore
- Bleeding
- Itchy
- Crusty
How deadly is it?
Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer.
The outlook of a person’s disease depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed.
Survival is better for women than it is for men.
“We don’t know exactly why this is. It may be because women are more likely to see a doctor about their melanoma at an earlier stage,” says Cancer Research UK.
The charity says that generally, statistics show that in England, more than 85 out of every 100 people (more than 85 per cent) will survive their melanoma for 10 years or more after they are diagnosed.
- Around 100 per cent in England diagnosed with melanoma at stage 1 – when the cancer cells are only in the top layer of skin – will survive for five years or more after diagnosis.This drops to 80 per cent for stage 2.
- Some 70 per cent live for a further five years when they are diagnosed in stage 3, which is when the cancer has started to spread to nearby lymph nodes.
- At stage 4, when the melanoma has spread elsewhere in the body, almost 30 per cent survive their cancer for 5 years or more.
Cancer Research says the stage 4 data does not account for age differences. Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
What is melanoma?
Melanocytes are cells in the skin that give us the colour of our skin because they produce a pigment, known as melanin.
When you sit in the sun, melanocytes produce more pigment (a sun tan), which spreads to other skin cells to protect them from the sun’s rays.
But melanocytes are also where cancer starts.
Too much UV causes sunburn, and this is a sign of damage to the skin’s DNA.
The UV triggers changes in the melanocytes, which makes the genetic material become faulty and cause abnormal cell growth.
People who burn easily are more at risk of skin cancer because their cells do not produce as much pigment to protect their skin.
Those with albinism are at the most risk because their skin produces no pigment at all.
