A mother has told the painful experience of losing her entire nose to cancer and how a simple everyday item became her worst enemy.
In May 2014, Tina Earls was told by her doctor that she had stage II nasal cancer. However, in order to avoid radiation therapy affecting her vision, brain and mouth, she made the brave decision to undergo a total rhinectomy. The entire nose was removed. Tina opened up about how she had to try to put on a brave face after the surgery. People asked her why she was so confident, and she said that because she was still alive and she could still work hard, there was nothing better than being alive.
Tumors of the nasal cavity or sinuses are very rare, accounting for only about 0.1% of cancer cases diagnosed in the United States each year. Rhinectomy may vary depending on the size of the tumor, but it is common for people who have had this surgery to wear a prosthetic nose after surgery.
Tina later shared on social media that most of the bone around her nose had been removed, leaving no room for magnets to attach to the magnetic prosthetic. So after waiting for six months for her face to fully heal, Tina decided not to have a prosthetic nose. She said: "For no other reason than I didn't like it. I didn't like the look of it and I didn't like the glue because it irritated my skin."
Later, Tina chose to wear a patch. She said: "I can breathe through the hole and I wear the patch to help warm and moisten my breathing, which is for comfort. On a daily basis I have to stick my finger in it a few times to clean it, that way It really hurts."
Tina also said that she can swim as long as she doesn't bury her head in the water. Smell and taste remain normal. However, she said pepper was her "absolute nemesis". Because she loves cooking with it and she loves tasting it, but she has to be careful because it can get into the hole in her face if she doesn't get it right.
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