A woman who was told that her severe nosebleeds were due to hayfever has had to have half of her face removed after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
Jannine McHaffie, a 25-year-old from Chelmford, Essex, told the Daily Mail she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that affects the salivary glands and face, after being mistakenly told her nosebleeds were from hayfever.
“I went to my GP who said it was hayfever and there wasn’t a lot he could do about it,” said the mother of one.
She continued to live with her “hayfever”, until a lump on her nose, that her GP again misdiagnosed as a common and benign polyp, began to obstruct her breathing.
It was then that Ms McHaffie was taken for a CT and an MRI at a community hospital in Essex, which revealed that the “polyp” was actually a tumour.
“After 10 months I was finally diagnosed with ACC (Adenoid cystic carcinoma), I was terrified, I’ve never heard of anything like it,” said McHaffie.
But, unfortunately for Jannine, her journey took her from bad to worse.
“I was sat down as surgeons told me they had to remove most of my upper mouth which would be mainly reconstructed by using the fibula bone in my right leg,” she said.
“I took a deep breath and put on a brave smile, I knew it had to be done,” said Jannine, “I just kept thinking about my daughter Leylah, who’s three. I wanted the doctors to do whatever it took to save me as I don’t want to miss a second of her growing up.”
Jannine and her daughter. Image source: Facebook
Jannine underwent a 13 hour operation to remove the bones and tissue of her upper mouth, after which she underwent another two operations to reconstruct parts of her mouth from her fibula.
“I was sedated for three days while I underwent three different operations,” said revealed, “After the first one, surgeons knew something wasn’t quite right with the roof of my mouth and the blood flow.”
“I needed the blood flow into my mouth increased because I kept getting blood clots,” said the 25-year-old.
Luckily for Jannine and her daughter, Leylah, after a little hiccup, all three operations were deemed a success, and Jannine was transferred into recovery.
“My little girl has been my main focus to get through everything; little does she know she’s getting mummy through every day,” said Jannine, “I couldn’t have got through this without the help of my parents, their partners and my wonderful boyfriend Chris.”
“He was diagnosed with testicular cancer two years ago but is now thankfully in remission, it’s just crazy how a young couple can both end up with such awful diseases,” she continued, “The recovery process is long in about one year when everything’s settled I will be able to have veneers and my appearance should return to normal.”
“It’s not easy but every day gets better and positivity is very important,” she said, “If you remain positive then you can get through anything.”
