By Ed Chatterton via SWNS
A father-of-two has told how he had half of his face removed and rebuilt – after his pet dog sniffed out a cancerous tumor and saved his life.
Mark Allen, 65, was given just weeks to live after being diagnosed with an aggressive tumor that had spread across most of the right side of his face.
He has noticed his collie cross Jessie had been acting strangely — nudging, pawing and becoming overly affectionate towards him in the months prior to his diagnosis.
The chief executive of a consultancy business said he thought nothing of it at the time but later realized his pet was trying to tell him something.
After her behavior prompted him to go the doctors, Mark underwent a grueling 10-hour operation to remove the growth from his face.
Surgeons then embarked on a massive facial reconstruction, which involved replacing his cheekbone with his pelvis bone, removing his right eye socket and swapping out his jaw for titanium plates.
Mark said he ignored symptoms for nearly 12 months, which meant his tumor spread across most of his face, and is urging others to not do the same.
Mark, of Warwick, said: “I couldn’t breathe out of my right nostril for about a year or so because of a polyp.
“At the time, we had three dogs, and Jessie was acting oddly, clinging around my legs and behaving in a closeness she had not previously done.
“When I finally went to see the doctor and get the results of some tests I think I’d already worked out it was going to be cancer because of Jessie’s behavior.
“Had I gone to the doctors earlier, I’m sure the treatment would not have been as severe as it turned out to be, but I’d allowed the cancer to get to stage 4.
“I asked the consultant what would happen if I did not have surgery and he replied to say I would be dead within weeks.
“Our faces are like our most visible fingerprint.
“They are a massive part of our identity and the thought of disfigurement to your face is daunting, but I had no choice but to go ahead with the operation.”
Mark spent more than 10 hours on the operating table whilst surgeons removed the tumor and half of his face along with it in November 2017.
His cheekbone was replaced with a chunk of his pelvis bone, surgeons swapped out his jaw for titanium plates and rebuilt the roof of his mouth and throat with tissue from his abdomen.
They also removed his eye socket and took away the lymph nodes and saliva glands from the right side of his neck to stop the cancer spreading any further.
Mark said: “”They managed to get the tumor out cleanly but had to remove my eye socket, which is now titanium mesh.
“My cheekbone is now made out of my pelvic bone.”
Following the operation and several weeks of recovery, Mark then also had to undergo intensive radiotherapy.
Mark added: “The ongoing radiotherapy was quite nasty.
“I lost three and half stone, the hair on the one side of my head and I also lost all taste so eating was about survival.
“You just never know when something might strike that is going to change your life significantly.”
Mark has now teamed up with UK charity, the Get A-Head Charitable Trust, to raise awareness of the risks of head and neck cancer.
He added: “I am very lucky and would be in a very different place if it wasn’t for charities like Get A-Head who helped fund some of the vital equipment used in the re-construction of my face.
“I’ll never be quite the same as I was but when I was diagnosed, I promised myself two things – that I wouldn’t feel sorry for myself and that some good would come out of my situation.
“The good thing is that seven years on, I’m still here to tell the tale and help raise awareness along with Get A-Head.
“My advice to others is not to ignore symptoms. If something is not right, go and seek some consultation.”
Danni Heath, director of the Get A-Head Trust, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, said: “Mark’s story is inspirational.
“It’s one of hope and survival but also one of reality for many people.
“In the UK, the number of head and neck cancer cases are increasing by 3 percent a year and unfortunately most cases are diagnosed at either stage three or four making treatment lengthier and more invasive.
“At Get A-Head, we’ve made it our mission to improve the lives of these people by funding research, education and the provision of equipment but we very much hope people will take note of Mark’s valuable advice and seek medical help should they have any symptoms they might be concerned about.”
Key symptoms for head and neck cancer include persistent sore throats, painful or difficulty swallowing, neck lumps, nose bleeds, speech problems, earache and a persistent blocked nose.
