Woman loses her entire nose after sporadic nosebleeds and foul smell turn out to be cancer
A MUM complaining of a painfully stuffy nose knew something was wrong when she kept getting nosebleeds and noticing a foul smell.
Diagnosed with cancer after a years-long wait, Lisa Mercer had to have her entire nose surgically removed to eradicate the disease.
But she claims doctors may not have had to do so if they had caught her cancer earlier - after her hospital appointments for a camera to go up her nostril at hospital were cancelled six times between November 2021 and July 2022.
Lisa was diagnosed with stage two paranasal sinus and skull-base cancer in August 2022 after suffering with a painful "stuffy" nose, nosebleeds and headaches for a year-and-a-half.
Following her diagnosis, the 49-year-old had to have her full nose removed - a total rhinectomy - and now wears a magnetic prosthetic attachment where her nose once was.
The-mum-of-three says her nose removal procedure was "traumatic" and afterwards, she had to undergo 30 rounds of radiotherapy treatment.
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Fortunately, after a check-up appointment last week, Lisa has been told her cancer has not returned following the removal of her nose.
The former carer is urging people with similar symptoms as her to push for more thorough hospital referrals.
Lisa, from Litherland in Liverpool, said: "I wished I'd pushed it more [my referral and diagnosis] because maybe I'd still have a nose and wouldn't have this fear of the cancer returning hanging over my head."
Lisa said hospitals needs more resources to treat people with cancer, adding: "I feel I didn't get much help really.
"My full rhinectomy has changed my life a lot. The nose doesn't bother me, believe it or not.
"I don't care about my prosthetic nose, but I don't think society would be comfortable with me walking around with no prosthetic on. I'm just happy to be alive."
'I was convinced I had cancer'
Lisa had initially begun experiencing symptoms in January 2021 and when they persisted, she phoned her GP for advice.
But after reportedly being unable to get an in-person appointment she was diagnosed with a sinus infection over the phone and given an antibiotic nasal spray to use.
Lisa said she used this medication for a month but when it didn't help, she returned to her GP on two more occasions but was just handed other nasal sprays to try.
Lisa said: "At first I just had a painful stuffy nose, watery eyes and headaches all the time."
It was only when she began to experience sporadic nose bleeds and the left side of her face went numb, that she booked a private consultation with a specialist in May 2021.
From this appointment, Lisa said she was referred for an CT scan where she was told she had an infection in the bridge of her nose and was handed another cleaning and steroid spray to try.
Lisa said by this point she had a 'terrible' smell of faeces stuck in her nose and believed there was a hole in her nostril, so had another phone call with a specialist in November 2021.
What are the symptoms of nasal and paranasal sinus cancer?
Nasal and paranasal sinus cancer is when abnormal cells in the lining of the space behind the nose - the nasal cavity - or the nearby air cavities called paranasal sinuses start to grow and divide uncontrollably.
These kind of cancer most commonly cause nose problems such as:
- Blockages causing stuffiness in one side of your nose that does not go away
- Nosebleeds
- Decreased sense of smell
- Mucus coming from the nose that can be bloody
- Mucus draining into the back of your nose and throat
But you might also experience symptoms in your eyes, such as bulging in one eye, complete or partial loss of sight, pain above or bellow the eye or wateriness.
Other symptoms could include:
- A lump or growth anywhere on the face, nose or roof of the mouth that does not go away
- Pain or numbness and tingling in parts of your face, particularly the upper cheek, that doesn’t go away
- A headache
- Loose teeth
- Difficulty opening your mouth
- Swollen lymph nodes in your neck
- Pain or pressure in one of your ears
Source: Cancer Research UK
Lisa said: "[On my phone appointment with the specialist in November 2021], I told him I felt like I had a hole in my nose.
"I could feel a lump in my nose and I could smell a terrible smell. It smelt like poo constantly.
"At this point I was convinced I had cancer. By this point my nose has started to go out of shape. I had a perfectly straight nose and it had started to turn to one side and swell and go really red.
"On this phone consultation, I was booked in for an [in-person] consultation, but this was cancelled. A second one was booked and then this was cancelled and this happened six times.
"I finally was seen in July 2022, but I should have pushed more when my appointments were being cancelled."
Lisa was not seen until eight months after the consultation was booked.
A series of surgeries
Lisa said at her in-person appointment in July 2022, it was confirmed she had a 'huge' hole in her septum and following an MRI and a biopsy, she was diagnosed with cancer the following month.
And, when her cancer deteriorated to stage three, she underwent two surgeries to have the tumour in her nose removed.
Unfortunately, both operations were unsuccessful in removing the full tumour, which meant Lisa had to have her whole nose removed in an eight-hour surgery.
A full rhinectomy is the surgical removal of a nose and Lisa said this procedure is only carried out on rare occasions and claims it only happens twice a year at the hospital.
At first, Lisa had implants screwed into her forehead and cheeks and her fake nose was sewn onto her face.
But now she wears a prosthetic magnetic nose which she cleans at least three times a day and has to replace every one-to-two years.
'I've developed PTSD from the experience'
Following her radiotherapy treatment, Lisa says she has been left with no sense of taste or smell.
Despite this, Lisa says she is happy to be alive and her artificial nose doesn't bother her.
Lisa said: "I'm just happy I'm alive but I do think I've developed PTSD from the whole experience. It was all pretty traumatic.
"When I first saw myself without my nose it was scary and took me a long time to adjust.
"The radiation treatment was worse than getting my nose off. This was horrific.
"For the treatment I had to be screwed down in a mask on the table and you can't move at all. I had to take a sedative to go through with this.
"After I was diagnosed, my treatment and radiotherapy treatment was amazing and I couldn't have asked for better care. They were all amazing."
Now, a year on from her surgery, Lisa has created a TikTok page to raise awareness about her surgery and life with no nose and warns people about the symptoms to look out for.
Lisa said: "I made my TikTok page to help other people.
"Head and neck cancer seems to be popping up more and more and people aren't getting seen quick enough [or diagnosed quick enough].
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"People need to keep pushing for their diagnosis'."
A spokesperson for the hospital's trust said: "We are sorry to learn of Lisa's concerns regarding her appointments at the hospital and our Patient Advice and Complaints Team will contact Lisa directly to discuss these and offer any further support."
