A London man’s trip to a COVID-19 vaccine clinic ended up being potentially life-saving when the doctor giving him his vaccine ended up diagnosing him with skin cancer.
Dr. Jessica Hunter-Orange, a family physician in London, Ont., was doing her shift at the Agriplex mass vaccination clinic on April 16, 2021, when she saw a concerning mole on a patient’s arm.
Once the patient sat down and lifted up his sleeve, she could tell right away something was not right, she told Global News.
Near the back of his arm, she found a misshapen mole that was a mix of black, dark brown and a little bit of red.
“You didn’t need to be seasoned in dermatology to know there was an issue,” she said.
“I knew immediately it was melanoma.”
Lucky for this patient, when she is not helping vaccinate the community, Hunter-Orange is a family physician in London whose focus is dermatology.
Hunter-Orange said she sees patients come in with melanoma weekly, so she knows the signs.
Right away she pointed out the suspicious mole to the man, who was unaware it was even there.
The patient, she said, went to see his dermatologist the following week, who confirmed her suspicions that it was cancer.
Hunter-Orange, who knew the physician, said she received a call after the appointment.
“She called me to say thank you, that I had probably helped to save that gentleman’s life.”
After having the mole removed and a second procedure to ensure all of the cancer was gone, the patient sent a letter thanking her and noted he is doing a lot better, she said.
Hunter-Orange first shared this story in a tweet earlier this week after hearing about a similar situation at a Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken game in October 2021.
On New Year’s Day, the Canucks put out a call on social media to track down a Kraken fan who noticed a cancerous mole on the back of the Canucks assistant equipment manager Brian Hamilton’s neck.
Hamilton said after seeking medical attention, he was able to confirm the mole was a malignant melanoma that if left untreated would be fatal.
He was later able to track down the woman who alerted him to the mole and thank her.
“Melanoma is one of the most concerning types of skin cancers we deal with because it has the ability to spread to your lymph nodes and the rest of your body,” Hunter-Orange said.
To prevent the spread of cancer, Hunter-Orange recommends people keep an eye out for misshapen moles that are usually brown but can be other colours and are usually larger than an eraser at the end of a pencil.
More information on melanoma and other types of skin cancer can be found on the Canadian Cancer Society website.
— with files from Global News’ Kristen Robinson
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