After receiving a cancer diagnosis, a British woman has taken to social media to spread awareness and urge others not to wait too long to see a doctor about suspicious growths.

It was only a few weeks ago that Melanie Williams, 36, saw a dark spot under her thumbnail. She thought it was a fungal infection or a wart, according to the Mirror.

“Sadly not,” Williams posted on her Facebook page, along with a picture of the growth.

Doctors told the mother of three it was melanoma, a form of skin cancer, and that she would need surgery.

“I’ve been lucky, the cancer [hasn’t] spread and it’s being removed next week along with half of my thumb,” she wrote. “This may have not been the case if I’d left it and not got it checked out.”

The spot, pictured on Facebook, “grew from nothing in a matter of weeks,” Williams said. Now, she wants to make sure others don’t wait as long as she did to seek medical advice.

“I don’t want your sympathy, I want more awareness,” she wrote. “Therefore, please go and get any changes or growths on your skin checked out, please tell people around you to get checked as well.”

Many Facebook users chimed in, thanking her for the message and promising to share it.

“I’d of never thought about cancer under a nail,” wrote user Dawn Chadwick. “Most definitely will be sharing to raise awareness of this!”

Since Williams posted the original message on July 8 it has been shared over 91,000 times.

On July 16 she posted an update saying she had just had her surgery and doctors reportedly said they may need to remove more of her thumb.

“I’m due to have more tests done in the next week, so will have to see where we go from there,” she said.

“Thank you to everyone who shared this post,” she added. “Totally lost for words (for those who know me, this is rare) on the response it has received.”

READ MORE AT OPPOSING VIEWS