A man has claimed he contracted skin cancer after stubbing his toe, a much-debated area of medicine over whether trauma can cause the deadly disease

Roland Monger received the shock skin cancer diagnosis after going to his GP when his toe began to turn black.

Medics diagnosed him with skin cancer, and found a tumour the size of a grapefruit in his groin area and initially said he may just have a year to live.

However Mr Monger has now made a recovery.

He says he was told the trauma - caused by hitting his toe on a step after he broke his ankle - may have caused his cancer.

This theory of a 'trauma' to a limb causing the deadly disease is much debated in medicine.

The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) disagree that the blow would have caused skin cancer. They claim there needs to be an 'insult' such as overexposure to sunlight for this occur.

Dr Walayat Hussain, of the BAD, said some people often see a blow as an 'insult' but this can in fact be the trigger that causes people to get checked out in the first place.

Roland Monger
Roland Monger who says he contracted skin cancer after stubbing his toe

However, some theories suggest a trauma can cause tumours to spread.

In Mr Monger's case there was no mole, as is often with skin cancer victims, and the occurrence was an innocuous one for the Devon man.

"It's a bit of a mystery," Mr Monger said.

"I was living in London and I was making my way to work in the snow and I slipped and broke my ankle," he said.

"My foot was in a cast but my toe was exposed and I slammed it into a step. It was black and bloody and was giving me a few problems so I got it checked out."

Doctors told him that the cancer was aggressive and that he might only have a year to live, the Exeter and Express Echo reports.

Further tests and scans followed.

Doctors found a tumour "the size of a grapefruit" hidden in Mr Monger's groin area.

He added: "We did a few tests and there was no mole, but I was told that while 80% of skin cancer cases come from sun exposure, another 20% comes from traumas, like hitting a limb really hard.

"That causes the cancer to spread."

Mr Monger said the first thing that went through his head when he received the diagnosis was how he was going to tell his family.

"It was a pretty horrible feeling. I was shell-shocked," Roland said.

"I'm going have to make a video for my son," I thought, like in the Hollywood films."

Luckily the tumour was found on March 25, 2016.

The lymphatic system in his body prevented the cancer from spreading towards his vital organs, and the tumour was removed and treatment began.

"I've got a 10-inch scar up my leg and in my groin area," added Mr Monger.

"I needed to have drains through my leg full of lymph nodes which drew the infection from the skin.

"Then, my 20 sessions of radio therapy began. Up at Derriford for 10 minutes every morning."

Dermatologist Dr Walayat Hussain

Dr Walayat Hussain, who has studied the theory that skin cancer can be linked to traumas, said: "No dermatologist will ever tell you that banging the toe has caused the skin cancer.

Dr Hussain told the Mirror he could not prove a definite link after his research. But he said there were a range of theories that exist including that trauma could be a contributing factor.

One theory can also be that a trauma - such as accidentally hitting a limb or stubbing a toe - can be a fortunate event that triggers a person to seek medical help and then discover unrelated cancer.

Dr Hussain said skin cancer generally needed a so-called "insult" - such as over exposure to sun light - and the theory advanced by some was that the trauma was this trigger.

Trauma-related cases were generally on the big toe and thumb because they were bigger and tended to suffer more knocks, he said.

Mr Monger says his recovery has given him a new lease of life and he now works for the admissions team at Plymouth University.

Additionally, he always had a vested interest in music – as seen through his blog 'Listen With Monger ' and wanted to take action to give something back.

He came up with the idea of the 'One Day Festival' to raise money for the hospital that cared for him and St Luke's Hospice. It will be held on March 25, 2017, exactly a year after he was diagnosed.

Some of Devon's most notable acts, such as Joanna Cooke, Jamie Yost, Nick Gladdish, Phat Bollard and the Busketeers will be performing at the festival and entry will be free of charge.