California woman contracted rare cancer at a beauty salon, almost lost her finger

It never occurs to women who go to a beauty salon that they might get cancer there, but that's exactly what happened to a woman in California recently.

Grace Garcia, a 50-year-old California resident, lived a nightmare after going to a beauty salon to get a manicure, after that day she developed a rare form of nail cancer caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).

In November 2021, Grace went to a new salon when her usual one was full. She there she asked me to give her a manicure; however, during the process, her technique cut the cuticle of his right ring finger.

“He cut me deep, and it was one of the first times it happened to me. I've been doing my nails for years. She was upset,” the woman told Today.com. She added that she did not remember if the technician used any new tools during the service, but that the wound did not heal after three days.

In the months that followed, Grace, a resident of San Gabriel, California, noticed that the blister near her nail was not getting better. She then went to the doctor, who sent her to a dermatologist for a finger biopsy.

cancer diagnosis

Grace then went to UCLA Health to see a specialist, Dr. Teo Soleymani, who told her she had squamous cell carcinoma, a high-risk type of HPV-caused skin cancer, possibly triggered by her manicure.

The Californian citizen was officially diagnosed with stage 1 cancer, but fortunately, she went to Dr. Soleymani well in advance.

“Their results are entirely dictated by how early they are detected, and very often they are completely curable,” Dr. told Today. “Thanks to his perseverance, he not only got a good result, but probably saved himself from having his finger amputated.”

Soleymani performed Mohs surgery and found clear margins around her finger, so no further treatment was necessary.