It was the manicure from hell.
When Grace Garcia decided to get a manicure in 2021, the mom of three had no idea the outcome would be a cancer diagnosis.
The San Gabriel, California, resident tried to book an appointment at her usual salon in November 2021, but since it was all booked up, she decided to try a different one.
At the new spot she visited near her workplace, the technician was “aggressive” when attending to the cuticle on her right ring finger.
Garcia said her finger looked “raw” after the manicure, recalling to FOX 11 that it “hurt a lot.”
“It just looked like a blister,” the 50-year-old said, noting it wouldn’t heal.
“She probably used the tool on a previous person. I have no idea,” she told Today.com. “It sprouted, whatever the thing was on my hand. … It popped up. It looked like a wart, and I’m like, ‘What in the world is this?’”
Three months after the manicure, the blister-like sore near her fingernail wasn’t getting any better. She then went to the doctor who sent her to a dermatologist for a biopsy on her finger.
“I knew it wasn’t good,” she said.
Almost immediately, she got an ominous phone call from her dermatologist.
“On my way to the car he called me. That scared me,” she admitted. “He said I need to come back.”
Garcia then went to UCLA health to see a specialist, Dr. Teo Soleymani, who said she had squamous cell carcinoma — a type of skin cancer caused by high-risk HPV (Human papillomavirus infection), possibly triggered by her manicure.
He told the publication he’s only seen a handful caused by manicures.
“Rarely do we see high-risk squamous cell carcinoma arising from this but I have had half dozen with this phenomenon,” he explained.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, workers must “clean and disinfect tools after each client according to the policies of your state’s cosmetology board.”
Garcia was officially diagnosed with Stage 1 cancer, but thankfully, she saw Dr. Soleymani early enough.
“Your outcomes are entirely dictated by how early you catch them, and very often they’re completely curable,” he told Today. “Her persistence, not only was she able to have a great outcome, she probably saved herself from having her finger amputated.”
Luckily, Garcia did not need radiation or “any additional treatment” thanks to her swift action.
“Anytime you have a growth that doesn’t go away in about four weeks, that’s kind of our cue,” Soleymani said. “You should see your dermatologist.”
“I fought all the way from day one,” Garcia said, “because I knew something was wrong.”