12:49 AM
Anonymous
A grandmother will have her leg amputated after developing what she thought was a blood blister.
Ms Skelton, 47, has had primary lymphoedema, a chronic condition that causes swelling in the body's tissue, in her leg for more than 20 years.
But when her leg began to bleed Vicki sought help first from her GP in April, then from her nearest accident and emergency department in Hull in July.
But it wasn't until last month that doctors told her she had a rare cancer. She was horrified to learn they would need to remove her left leg from above the knee to try and stop it from spreading.
Ms Skelton, from Hull, said: 'If I don't have my leg amputated, I will die. It started off as a blood blister and I think if they had known what it was, it might not have been like it is now and I might not be losing my leg.
'I have no choice and I'm gutted.
After the operation, I have to have chemotherapy and, even after all that, they still don't know if it will be clear.
'They said the way this cancer works, it will go straight to the lungs. They are clear at the moment but you just don't know what's going to happen.'
Vicki is staying at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham and recent tests confirmed she had angiosarcoma, a rare cancer of the blood vessels, in her ankle.
She claims her prognosis may have been better if services to manage the primary lymphoedema were available in Hull and the tumour in her leg had been detected sooner.
Primary lymphoema is caused by mutations in some of the genes responsible for the development of the lymphatic system. This results in problems in draining fluids from the body properly, and it is treated using massage and compression bandages.
Vicki said there is a possibility of having an artificial limb in the future but the swelling due to her condition may make it difficult.
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