For plenty of women, having a polished manicure is worthy of showing off on social media. But if they don't, it's inevitable that people will end up noticing them anyway.

Although people prefer to file their fingernails in different shapes, one woman from Wigan, England received devastating news after a Facebook Friend urged her to see a doctor after noticing her curved nails on social media.

Jean Williams Taylor always believed her "ugly" nails were a genetic trait she received from her mother, who had one of her lungs removed due to cancer, but thought nothing about it.

But while she thought the suggestion was "a tad" extreme, she decided to go to the clinic, where her doctors knew her curved nails, otherwise known as finger clubbing, digital clubbing or Hippocratic nails were a symptom of heart or lung disease.

Their test results confirmed Williams Taylor had two golf ball-sized tumors on her lungs.

According to Daily Mail, the 53-year-old said that although she "felt ridiculous going to the doctor over a curved nail" it ultimately saved her life.

"These nails are my life savers and I'm not cutting them off," Williams Taylor explained.

"I'd been working in a factory so my nails were really short. I got an office job about six weeks ago and they decided to grow."

"I've always had weak nails and I've never got them to this length because they were never strong and I was working in a factory."

She quickly wrote a post on Wigan Today's Facebook page to warn others about her diagnosis in an effort to get them to check their nails.

"The support [after the post went viral] has been unreal. That feels good," she said. "I've got so many people sending me shares of their nails, but I'm no expert - I've only been diagnosed less than 48 hours."

"People out there are terrified now and saying 'my mum had that and it was never picked up and she died of lung cancer.'"

"I feel sorry for these people. I want to help. But I'm not qualified to look at anyone's nails."

Williams Taylor is now urging nail technicians to spot of clubbed nails on their clients.

"They should know about it, because if people are wearing acrylic nails the only time they're going to have their nails seen is by a nail technician," she said.

"I think it's so important for them to know. It could definitely save their [customers'] lives. Whether the nails look ugly or not, they saved my life."

According to the National Health Service's website, "Clubbing of the fingertips can run in families and be entirely harmless," but there's no harm in getting them checked out by your physician.

"However, if it suddenly develops, it may be a sign of one of many underlying medical conditions, including long-term lung disease or heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and cirrhosis of the liver."

"With clubbed fingertips, the fingernails curve over the top of the fingers. Normal nails should dip downwards towards the cuticle, creating a natural angle."

Follow Williams Taylor's lead and be sure to check your nails for any abnormalities, and share this message with your family and friends to make them aware!

[H/T: Daily Mirror, Daily Mail]