Mum with ‘blocked nose’ has it amputated after skin cancer caused it to triple in size
WHEN Julia Davey woke up one morning with a blocked nose, she thought little of it.
But the blockage turned out to be a cancerous tumour - and it was only getting bigger.
Soon the 40-year-old's nose had tripled in size and eventually she was told she would have to have it entirely removed to stop the cancer spreading.
Julia, from Weymouth, Dorset, first visited her doctor in April last year after suffering from a blocked nose for two weeks.
She said: “It felt like there was a big bogey up there that wouldn't shift.
"I thought it was a bit odd but wasn't concerned."
'Harmless growth'
Doctors said it was probably a nasal polyp - a painless growth in the nose that is not usually serious - and she was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.
During her appointment the following month, medics performed a nasal endoscopy - where a thin, flexible tube with a tiny built-in camera is inserted into the nose – which confirmed there was a blockage.
Three weeks later, on June 1, she had a two-hour operation to remove the growth.
"I thought that was that,"; Julia said. "I was back to work the following Monday and thought nothing of it."
But the following week, she received a call asking her to come to the hospital to discuss the results of a biopsy that had been carried out.
"I'm quite naive so when they asked me in, I thought it was just protocol," she said.
So convinced it was nothing, she didn't even take her sales adviser partner Nick Stoodley, 44, with her.
But it was far from the routine appointment she expected.
Shock diagnosis
Julia was told that cancerous cells had been found on the nasal septum, meaning her growth was a tumour - not a harmless polyp.
"It's hard to describe how it feels hearing the words cancer - it was just utter disbelief,” she said.
"At that point they didn't say what type of cancer, it was just 'cancerous cells.'
It's hard to describe how it feels hearing the words cancer - it was just utter disbelief
Julia Davey
"I'm good at looking at things objectively and by the time I left I was very much of the mind frame, 'I have cancer. We'll fix it.'"
At home, Julia broke the news to Nick, but decided to hold off telling their five-year-old daughter Eleanor and her two sons, Tom 16, and Joel, 12, from a previous relationship - until she knew more about treatment.
In July 2019, she returned to hospital to have her septum removed, in a bid to eradicate any leftover cancer cells.
"It sounds like a big procedure, but you can live without a septum," she explained.
"It's not visible and it was meant to get rid of the cancer. That was all I cared about, getting the cancer gone.”
When she woke from the two-hour operation she was told it had been a success, and Julia was looking forward to moving on with her life.
Devastating blow
But in August, she was hit by the same bunged up sensation - this time in her left nostril.
A nasal endoscopy in September found another tumour, which she had removed later that month.
Julia was told the cancerous cells were a result of squamous cell carcinoma – the second most common form of skin cancer, with around 29,000 new diagnoses in the UK a year.
Due to the aggressive nature of the cancer, drastic measures needed to be taken.
"They basically told me the fact that a tumour had grown so quickly after the first growth was removed meant the cancer was incredibly aggressive," Julia explained.
“They told me there was a real possibility they would have to remove my nose.
"I asked the doctor if it was anything to do with sun damage, as it was a form of skin cancer, and they told me that had nothing to do with it. The cancerous cells had formed internally.
What is squamous cell carcinoma?
A squamous cell carcinoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer.
It is a non-melanoma skin cancer and is the second most common in the UK.
The most common cause is too much exposure to ultra-violet light from the sun or from sun beds.
Squamous cell carcinomas can occur on any part of your body, but are most common on areas that are exposed to the sun, such as your head and neck and the backs of your hands.
Squamous cell carcinomas can also crop up where the skin has been damaged by X-rays, and also on old scars, ulcers, burns and persistent chronic wounds.
They can be cured if they are caught early but if they are left untreated for too long they can spread to other parts of the body and become more serious.
"It had seemed manageable up until then - but it all changed. I realised I had a bigger battle on my hands than I’d thought.
"I'm not vain at all but your nose is so prominent. It was just devastating."
Doctors agreed that to save her nose, they would first see how Julia’s body responded to chemotherapy.
Growing bigger
She began the six-week chemo course in September, but by the end of her second dose, Julia was left in agony as her nose tripled in size.
It became apparent the tumour was growing – not shrinking.
She said: "It was like the worst headache and toothache you could possibly imagine, combined.
"My head and nose felt like they were going to explode. The tumour was nearly coming out of my nose.”
With no other choice, Julia had a rhinectomy - an operation to remove her entire nose and top palate - on November 18, 2019.
The surgery took 14 hours and she remained in intensive care for a further 24 hours.
The tumour was nearly coming out of my nose
Julia Davey
"I certainly wasn't prepared for the new reality of my life," she said. "But the first thing that crossed my mind was, 'I'm not in pain anymore.'
"To look at, it was like I'd been in a car accident, but I didn't feel like my entire head was going to explode anymore.”
Whilst in hospital, Julia learnt how to dress her nasal cavity, and after two weeks, she was allowed home.
She said: "There's a hole where my nose is. There's no other way to describe it.
"Only a few people have seen it - including Nick - but I haven't shown the children. I don't want them to have nightmares.
"I told them that Mummy's had her nose removed to make her better and that's enough for them.
"They're making a prosthetic nose for me based on photographs I've provided for a specialist consultant but it's not quite ready yet."
Last slog
After a much-needed quiet Christmas with family, Julia was told at the end of December that doctors had successfully removed all traces of the cancer in her nasal cavity.
She then had 30 sessions of gruelling radiotherapy, over six weeks, beginning in January.
She added; "The radiotherapy was hard, but it was the last slog before the day I could say I was cancer-free."
But tragically, that day is yet to come for Julia, as an MRI scan at the end of April to monitor how she had responded to radiotherapy revealed another tumour had grown in her left maxilla - part of the jaw.
Last month, she was back on the operating table for surgery to remove both the growth and part of her jaw, before a follow-up scan found another tumour – this one too embedded in her cavity to be removed.
"Like every surgery before, I was happy to get the bad tissue out and move forward," she said. "But every time, they'd take a little and more would come back.
"This time, they said if they removed anymore it would do more damage than good.
"It's too close to important nerves and my brain. They can't go near it."
As yet, Julia has not been given a prognosis, as she must wait to see how her body responds to immunotherapy.
She now wants to make the most of what she is calling her “good months,” in case the side-effects of the immunotherapy make her feel unwell, or she has to have any more invasive treatment.
Wedding planning
Julia and Nick are now planning to get married in November this year rather than in April 2021, when they had originally planned to get hitched.
Her sister Angela, 35, has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover costs.
"I don't feel comfortable asking people for help, but Angela wouldn't let up on the idea," she said.
"Any savings we had have covered the cost of me not working for a year."
Taking each day as it comes, Julia refuses to believe immunotherapy will not work, saying it "simply is not an option."
She added: "The immunotherapy should shut down the tumour and stop any further growth, making it manageable.
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"My drive is being a mum and I've got to stay positive.
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"It can feel like I'm fighting against the tide, but I need this treatment to work.”
To donate, visit Julia's page.