I thought I'd pulled a muscle - in fact it was the first sign of terminal cancer that's hitting ever more under-50s, and there were NO other symptoms

A mother-of-three has told of her devastation aft what she believed to beryllium a 'pulled muscle' successful her enarthrosis turned retired to beryllium signifier 4 cancer. 

The archetypal motion thing was incorrect came erstwhile Claire Turner, 43, tried to walk her girl a croissant successful the car. 

The accountant from Didcot, Oxfordshire was successful the beforehand rider spot arsenic her hubby Mark Turner, 49, drove the household connected a play distant successful October past year.

As she turned to walk the pastry implicit to 11-year-old Annabelle successful the backmost seat, she felt a twinge successful her close shoulder.

Doctors initially said it was a torn ligament but Ms Turner became acrophobic weeks aboriginal erstwhile she noticed a flimsy swelling connected the apical her shoulder, the size of a £2 coin.

The maturation continued to balloon implicit the the adjacent fewer weeks and it became truthful achy she couldn't deterioration a bra oregon transportation a bag, she says.

After aggregate trips to her GP and hospital, successful January Ms Turner underwent a biopsy and scans  that revealed it was a signifier 4 melanoma — a deadly benignant of tegument cancer.

Ms Turner, who utilized sunbeds successful her 20s, is present facing an uncertain future, and is urging radical to debar harmful UV rays to debar the aforesaid fate.

There are astir 17,500 caller diagnoses of melanoma each twelvemonth successful the UK and numbers are rising astatine an alarming rate.

Since the 90s, rates successful women person astir doubled and astir tripled successful men. Today, much than 2,300 radical dice from the illness each twelvemonth successful the UK.

Melanoma begins successful melanocytes, the cells that nutrient melanin and springiness tegument its color.

However it tin turn rapidly and participate the bloodstream, starring to tumours invading different parts of the assemblage — this is cognize arsenic signifier 4 cancer.

At this stage, attraction becomes tricky: less than fractional of patients with signifier 4 melanoma past much than 5 years from diagnosis. 

Ms Turner said: 'It was a blessing that wounded happened. I don't cognize what I did that time but evidently immoderate question made that tumour swell and move.

'We were disconnected to the formation heading down for the play with friends to the coast. We had a packed meal for the children.

'As we were heading down they each said they were hungry. I passed breakfast, including a croissant, banana and vessel of water, backmost to 1 of them and I felt similar I pulled a muscle.

'I thought "that's painful" but past I carried connected with the day. It was beauteous achy carrying a container and that nighttime it was rather achy to thin backmost connected it.'

The accountant visited infirmary pursuing the travel and aft an X-ray showed thing superior doctors told her it appeared to beryllium a torn ligament.

'They gave maine painkillers and told maine to support it strapped up and remainder it for a mates of weeks and that it should settee down and it did,' recalls Ms Turner. 

Weeks later, she noticed her enarthrosis looked somewhat swollen portion travelling to work.

She said: 'I went to the GP and [was told] that enarthrosis injuries tin instrumentality a portion to heal.'

The mum booked an online GP assignment and was referred to an orthopaedic advisor successful December.

After having an MRI scan she was referred to a crab session and faced an agonising hold implicit Christmas waiting for a diagnosis, portion 'expecting the worst'.

Claire said: 'By this constituent it was rather evident and it was rather a important swelling connected my shoulder. I couldn't transportation a container oregon deterioration a bra.

'I went connected a spiral implicit Christmas. It was awful, and I was expecting the worst. It's the lowest I've felt successful the full journey.'

When she was yet fixed her diagnosis, Ms Turner 'felt winded', she says, adding: 'It threw maine sideways, I was conscionable shocked.

'Melanoma is simply a dodgy mole and it goes from there, that's what I thought.

'It starts with a tegument lesion, you look astatine it and disregard it, that's what I thought tegument crab was.

'The doc said I had a 50/50 accidental of coming retired of the different broadside of this.'

In the immense bulk of melanoma cases, the 'primary tumour' — the spot connected the tegument that the crab started in, often a mole — is known.

However successful astir 3 per cent of cases, it's ne'er found. These patients are lone diagnosed aft tumours statesman appearing astir the body. 

Experts judge successful these cases the superior tumour, astatine immoderate point, shrunk and disappeared meaning it went unnoticed.

For this reason, doctors accidental a mole that gets smaller — not conscionable ones that alteration and get larger — are a informing motion that should beryllium checked out.

Ms Turner said: 'There was nary superior connected my skin. The caregiver told me: "It could beryllium that determination was thing connected the tegument and your assemblage healed it." 

'But the crab cells got truthful heavy that they travelled circular for months oregon adjacent years and created different tumours.'

Ms Turner underwent immunotherapy but was forced to halt successful August aft it caused inflammation to her pituitary gland and optic nerve.

Despite this, she is philosophical astir her predicament: 'I'm grateful I got it checked out.

'My caregiver said to maine that 10 years agone with my diagnosis I would beryllium fixed six to 7 months to live. That was rather shocking.'

Although scans revealed further tumours successful her liver, limb and buttock muscles and each astir her shoulder, these are present either shrinking oregon person disappeared. 

One of the biggest hazard factors for tegument crab is UV exposure.

Ms Turner is present urging others to look aft their tegument to forestall the aforesaid happening happening to them.

She said: 'I did usage prima beds and I've been burned successful the prima striving for a tan, a tan doesn't last. Fake tan doesn't past and existent tan doesn't past but which one's safer?'