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Beautician's warning after discovering black line under client's fingernail is cancer

People are being warned to check their nails for unsual black lines after a beauty salon worker said one of her clients was diagnosed with skin cancer.

UK beautician Jean Skinner said she alerted her client to the possibility the black line in her nail could be cancer when she came into the salon wanting a polish to cover the abnormality.

In a post on Facebook, Skinner said she wants to warn others about the potentially dangerous mark.

"She had a straight, dark vertical strip down her nail," Skinner wrote in the post.

Jean Skinner posted this photo with a message about the warning signs of melanoma. Source: Facebook
Jean Skinner posted this photo with a message about the warning signs of melanoma. Source: Facebook

"She said as soon as she sat down 'I need a colour dark enough to cover this stripe'.

“This is melanoma!!! I did not want to frighten her but I told her she needed to see her doctor immediately!"

Skinner said the woman had been "diagnosed" in a few different ways at various nail salons over the years.

"Some said it was lack of calcium, others said it was herediatary. At least one told her it was a blood blister," she wrote.

The woman later called Skinner to tell her she was right and that it was actually an aggressive form of melanoma.

People are being warned to check their nails for unsual black lines after a beauty salon worker said one of her clients was diagnosed with skin cancer. Photo: Getty/stock
People are being warned to check their nails for unsual black lines after a beauty salon worker said one of her clients was diagnosed with skin cancer. Photo: Getty/stock

CEO of Cancer Council Australia, Professor Sanchia Aranda, told 7 News symptoms of melanoma can occur in many different places on your body.

"Melanomas can occur in unexpected places – including under your fingernails, on your scalp under your hair, on the soles of your feet or even between your toes," Aranda said.

“Symptoms of melanoma under your nails include dark areas or marks. Elsewhere on your skin, as well as keeping an eye out for new moles or spots, look for moles or spots that change colour, have a variety of colours, are getting bigger or have an uneven border or develop a lump within them."

It's estimated that around 14,000 Australians will be diagnosed with melanoma this year and sadly around 1,800 Australians will die this year as a result of melanoma.