A young man was shocked to discover what he believed to be an ingrown hair was cancer.

Michael Croteau was quick to dismisses a red lump on his leg as a relatively benign and temporary medical issue.

Despite suffering from a tight feeling right knee and quad muscles, it wasn't until three months later – with the lump continuing to grow – that the nursing student became concerned.

When it became infected looking in April 2018 Michael's mum Susan Williams recommended that he made his way to a dermatologist.

The 21-year-old said: “I noticed a bump on the outside of my right thigh in September. I could feel it underneath the skin, it felt like there was pressure.

“It began to change color and I started to think it was an ingrown hair.

“I had never had one, but I didn’t really know what else it could be.

“I did dig at it, but there didn’t seem to be a hair there.

“It became raised and started to look infected. My mum suggested we go and get it looked at."

When the Texan went to his first dermatologist appointment in March the doctor immediately suggested it was cancer.

“We were really keen for a second opinion," Michael continued.

“The second dermatologist referred us to Dallas, where they have a specialist in sarcomas. I had an MRI, and CTs.

“In Dallas they told me what kind of cancer it was. They told me it was rare and that there were less than 100 cases in the USA.

“It was a real shock. Cancer had never affected me.

"It was something I never thought would happen to me, especially at this age.

“It freaked me out.”

Michael was frightened when doctors began to explore the possibility of amputation, but the surgery was eventually ruled out by an orthopedic surgeon.

Doctors in Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Center decided to treat Michael’s tumors with an experimental oral chemotherapy drug and the student underwent a course of radiation therapy on this thigh to manage the pain.

While Michael's cancer is currently incurable, the aim of his chemotherapy treatment was to halt the growth of his tumors.

Michael said: “Sarcoma is generally slow growing and there was a small risk of it spreading like wildfire. It’s not extremely aggressive.

"It doesn't usually respond so well to chemo or radiation.

“But the options I was presented were amputation from the hip down, or to just monitor it and hope it didn’t grow or spread. There is no cure.

"We have chosen that option."

Michael's mum Susan said the lack of research around her son's cancer has been devastating, as her family has no idea how his illness will progress.

Susan said: "Right now Michael is receiving palliative care. It's absolutely devastating to hear there is no cure for your 20-year-old son who just finished high school.

"We don't know how long he has. It could be one month or six years.

"Currently they are monitoring the spots on his lungs. But he will always be living with cancer which is the toughest part for our family.

"Because it's so rare, there is not much research being done on it, so for us it's a waiting game.

"Right now the focus is to give Michael the best quality of life he can have."

More than a year on from his diagnosis, Michael is relieved his tumors haven’t become larger, but he does worry about the future.

His doctors have also noticed two tiny spots on his lungs, which are currently too small to biopsy.

Michael said: “The goal is to live a normal life for as long as I can.

“My tumors have remained the same. They haven’t gotten any smaller but they haven’t gotten any bigger either.

“It’s so hard to tell what will happen because there is not much research into my type of cancer.

"They aren’t sure how it will develop in the future.

“It’s a scary thought because it’s impossible to plan for.

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