A woman says a rare type of cancer left surgeons forced to remove an estimated 80% of her nose and reconstruct it using cartilage from her rib.
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type → say → rib
Mel Frisby, 39, was on holiday in Turkey in September 2022 when she jumped off a boat into the sea and realized upon surfacing she was having a nosebleed.
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she → jump → nosebleed
After returning home, she noticed a small pimple on the top left corner of her nose that felt like “bone.”
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that → return → bone
Her nose continued to change in shape, and her husband, 41, urged her to get it checked at A&E at Leeds General Infirmary, where she was referred to ENT.
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she → continue → ENT
Nine days later, it was discovered Mel had osteomyelitis – an infection of the bone on her nasal bridge, which she had surgery to drain, needing an eight-day stay in the hospital.
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she → discover → hospital
But Mel’s nose continued to swell in size, so she returned to A&E and a CT scan revealed a “soft tissue” mass which was biopsied.
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which → continue → mass
Three weeks later on November 7, 2022, Mel was diagnosed with high-stage sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma – a rare and aggressive type of cancer that develops in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses.
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that → diagnose → cavity
Mel underwent surgery on November 24, 2022 to remove around 80% of her nose, before undergoing a further reconstructive surgery a week later.
Surgeons used cartilage from Mel’s rib and skin from her forehead to reconstruct her nose, called a forehead flap procedure – which was connected four weeks later.
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which → undergo → nose
She then underwent 30 rounds of radiotherapy over six weeks – where, sadly, Mel’s new nose collapsed due to the radiation.
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nose → undergo → radiation
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Report → start → news
Three years on, Mel is now cancer-free but has been told there is “nothing more than [sic] can be done” to fix her nose by her hospital.
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Mel → tell → hospital
She has been sharing her story on social media to help others who may be going through something similar.
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who → share → something
Mel, a stay-at-home mom and content creator from Leeds, West Yorkshire, says: “I woke up from the surgery to repair my nose and my face was so swollen I couldn’t speak or open my eyes.
“
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I → stay → eyes
It was a suffocating experience and I looked like a monster.
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I → look → monster
“I was a 35-year-old woman, and I’d like to think I was quite pretty.
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I → like → ?
“I was a woman and they took my identity, and the feeling of terror that they could take my face and I’d still die or it would come back – it was hard.
uncertain
it → take → face
“My nose collapsed as the radiation damaged my bone grafts.
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radiation → collapse → grafts
“I’ve been told there is nothing more that can be done for my face by my hospital.
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that → tell → hospital
“When I tell my story I feel a responsibility to tell it honestly but not to the point it terrifies anybody to get checked.
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it → tell → anybody
“I am living proof of it – I survived.
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I → live → it
“I don’t want it to all be about the nightmare.
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it → want → nightmare
“You are never going to meet anyone more grateful for their life than me.”
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You → go → me
Mel was on holiday to Turkey with her son, 17, when she had a nosebleed after jumping off a boat into the sea.
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she → have → sea
After discovering a small lump to the side of her nose, she headed to A&E – only to find nurses “baffled” as to what the cause was.
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cause → discover → A&E
After being referred to ENT, Mel needed surgery for an infection of the bone in her nose.
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Mel → refer → nose
Despite clearing the infection, her nose continued to swell in her recovery.
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nose → clear → recovery
“Even at that point it was devastating to be told my nasal bridge had collapsed,” Mel said.
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Mel → tell → point
“I noticed my nose getting bigger and redder, and I’d been told it was swelling from the surgery I’d had.
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I → notice → surgery
“I went back to A&E.
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I → go → A&E.
“I was admitted and went in for a CT scan.”
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I → admit → scan
It was here Mel was told that the “grey area” diagnosed as an infection was still there and had grown, “which could indicate a soft tissue mass.”
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which → tell → mass
“They took the biopsy, and in Leeds General Infirmary there’s a blue slope and I walked down that and sort of midway through the slope it dawned on me,” Mel says.
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Mel → take → me
“I remember saying out loud, ‘there’s cancer in the middle of my face.’
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I → remember → face
“I had to come home and tell the children,” she says.
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she → have → children
“I told them that evening and it was probably the most difficult conversation I’ve ever had.”
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I → tell → them
Mel went straight into surgery three weeks later, with doctors removing an estimated 80% of her nose – but managed to save her nostrils.
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doctors → go → nostrils
“They reconstructed my nose using a rib graft.
“
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They → reconstruct → graft
They did a skin graft using a forehead flap.
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They → do → flap
“My head was packed.
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head → pack → ?
“My face was gone.”
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face → go → ?
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
