Father of two children named Mark Allen found out about his insidious disease in a very unconventional way. He was his savior a devoted dog who discovered a cancerous tumor on his face, which ultimately saved his life. , a man he had to undergo extensive facial reconstruction in which doctors used parts of his own body.
His life was saved by a pet
65-year-old Mark from Warwick, England stated that about a year prior to diagnosis he had breathing problems caused by a growth in his right nostril. One day he noticed that his dog was behaving strangely around him. “We had three pets at the time. Jessie suddenly she started doing strange things and kept clinging to my legs“, he stated claiming that she kept rubbing and scratching him.
Mark, who is the managing director of a consulting company, he admitted that he did not consider her behavior important at the time. Later you are he realized that the collie cross was trying to alert him to something. So he decided to visit the doctors, who discovered something shocking. “When I finally went to the hospital and got the results of some tests, it dawned on me that i have cancer,” he noted, claiming that it was an aggressive tumor that had spread to most of the right side of his face.
65-year-old man after diagnosis underwent a grueling 10-hour operation to remove a growth from his face. In fact, in addition to the tumor, he also lost half his face. “If I had gone to the doctor earlier, the treatment would not have been so radical. I asked the consultant what would have happened if I had not had the operation and he replied that within a few weeks I would be dead,” Allen clarified.
Surgeons after surgery they embarked on a massive facial reconstruction. This included replacing his cheekbone with a pelvic bone, removing his right eye socket, replacing his jaw with titanium plates, and repairing the roof of his mouth and throat using tissue from his abdomen. They also removed his lymph nodes and salivary glands from the right side of the neck to prevent the cancer from spreading further.
After surgery and several weeks of recovery Mark had to undergo intensive radiotherapy. “It was pretty gross. I lost about 22 pounds, I lost hair on one side of my head and I also had no appetite at all,” he explained.
Currently Mark is working with UK charity Get A-Head to raise awareness of the risks of head and neck cancer. “I am very lucky and I would be in a completely different place if it weren’t for them. They helped with funding for the vital equipment used in the reconstruction of my face. My advice to others is to not ignore the symptoms and if something is wrong, seek help,” he concluded.
