A man whose GP said his breathing issues were due to a routine infection has now lost his entire nose to the real cause, a deadly form of cancer.
William Brogan, 47, from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire now faces major surgery to restore his face after medics were forced to amputate his nose.
The only initial symptom the former chef had was a sore nose—an ailment common to a variety of routine winter illnesses.
But after almost a year of doctors trying to relieve Mr Brogan’s illness with antibiotics, the real devastating cause was revealed to be the blood cancer lymphoma.
Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system—a network of blood vessels and glands helps fight off infections— and which kills about 5,000 Britons per year.
In Mr Brogan’s case, the disease originated in part of the lymphatic system in his nose, but by the time it was diagnosed in January this year, it had also spread into his mouth.
He claims doctors dismissed his worries about the ongoing nose pain and believes his cancer could have been caught earlier.
‘I had been telling them for months and months that it was something more. You know your own body,’ he said.
William Brogan, 47, from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire now faces major surgery to restore his face after medics were forced to amputate his nose
After almost a year of doctors trying to relieve Mr Brogan’s illness with antibiotics, the real devastating cause was revealed to be a form of cancer. Mr Brogan pictured here in 2013
‘The antibiotics were helping at first but when I asked for more help I had to wait for an appointment. It got worse in that time waiting.
‘It took them over a year to get a biopsy and find it was cancer.
‘They could have caught this nine months earlier before it travelled into my mouth.
‘Now I’ve got a hole in my face and a triangle where they removed part of my nose.’
After finally being diagnosed Mr Brogan had to undergo a marathon 20-hour operation to remove the cancer earlier this year.
This sadly meant he had to have his nose as well as the upper gums of his mouth removed.
While medics attempted to rebuild the gum with healthy tissue taken from under his arm, this unfortunately proved unsuccessful.
This meant he needed another five-hour operation to remove the failed transplant, before another 12-hour surgery for another transplant to rebuild his upper mouth which did prove successful.
Mr Brogan claims doctors dismissed his worries about his ongoing nose pain and that he believes his cancer could have been caught earlier
Mr Brogan, pictured here before he lost his nose with his daughter Angel, hopes surgeons will be able to restore his face in the near future
He has since been undergoing radiotherapy—where powerful radiation is used in an attempt to kill cancer cells— before medics attempt to rebuild his nose.
Mr Brogan said losing his nose, and the extreme change to his appearance this had brought, had taken a huge mental toll on him and he was now on medication to help.
‘Diazepane, used to relieve symptoms of anxiety, is the thing that gives me the courage to go out,’ he said.
‘People say “there’s that man with the hole in his face”.’
But he added he’s hopeful for the future.
He said specialist surgeons having looked at photos of him prior to the amputation to ensure they can make him a nose that matches his previous appearance.
‘I’m hoping to have a skin graft to try and rebuild my face within the year,’ he said.
‘They’ve already taken a picture of my face, so they know what colour to make my nose.
‘I can’t thank the surgeons enough. They saved my life.’
Family doctors most commonly prescribe antibiotics for nose pain in cases of sinusitis, an infection of the sinuses.
While most sinusitis cases are triggered by viruses—for which antibiotics don’t work—if infections persists for a long period, it can be a sign it’s caused by a bacteria.
In these circumstances a medic can prescribe antibiotics to help clear the infection.
Studies suggest between one in 20 to one in six Britons get sinusitis each year, though many cases are mild and can be treated at home.
As lymphoma can develop in any part of lymphatic system the symptoms patients experience can vary immensely.
For example, some may develop swollen tonsils in the mouth, a lump in the tummy, or skin rashes depending exactly where the cancer is.
However, the most common sign of the disease is a painless swelling in areas like the neck, armpit or groin.
Other symptoms—reported by some patients—include night sweats, unexplained weight-loss, a high temperature, breathlessness and persistent itching all over the body.
Approximately 13,500 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma—the more common version of the disease—are diagnosed in the UK each year, about 37 cases per day.
About half (55 per cent) of patients will survive at least a decade after being diagnosed.
One in 52 men and one in 71 women will develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma over the course of their life, according to charity Cancer Research UK.
People in their 80s are the most likely to be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma of any age group.
While the rates of this cancer have increased by almost a third across all age groups since the 90s there has been a small decrease in recent years.
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