William Brogan, 47, was diagnosed with lymphoma in January following over a year of enduring pain in his nose. Lymphoma is a cancer that begins in the lymphatic system, which is an extensive network of vessels and glands throughout the body.
Despite repeated visits to doctors, William recounts he was only prescribed antibiotics that failed to alleviate his symptoms.
An initial biopsy conducted in September 2024 yielded inconclusive results.
After several rounds of ineffective antibiotics and continuing difficulty breathing through his nose, a subsequent biopsy in January uncovered facial lymphoma.
The aggressive spread of the cancer from his nose to his mouth necessitated urgent surgical intervention.
William braved a mammoth 20-hour operation to excise the cancerous tissue, which involved removing his nose and upper gum and ensuring the cancer hadn’t invaded his neck.
In the same surgical episode, attempts were made to reconstruct the gum using robust tissues from under his arm, but the graft was unsuccessful due to muscle incompatibility in his mouth.
A second surgery lasting five hours was carried out to adjust the graft and address issues with his gum, followed by a third 12-hour surgery where specialists reconstructed his upper mouth using a combination of skin graft from his arm and muscle from his waist.
He is currently undergoing radiotherapy treatment which he hopes to complete soon, with plans for a nose reconstruction on the horizon.
William, a former chef from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, expressed his astonishment: “I have never seen anybody else like this in my life.
“Diazepam – used to relieve symptoms of anxiety – is the thing that gives me the courage to go out.
“People say ‘there’s that man with the hole in his face'”.
“They’ve already taken a picture of my face, so they know what colour to make my nose.”
For months, William asserts he repeatedly informed doctors that there was a problem with his nose.
He elaborated: “I had been telling them for months and months that it was something more – you know your own body.
“Now I’ve got a hole in my face and a triangle where they removed part of my nose.”
He contends that his cancer diagnosis could have been made sooner, which might have prevented its spread to other areas of his neck and face.
William said: “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.
“The doctors didn’t know what it was – they gave me antibiotics to keep on top of it, but it wasn’t getting better.
“I just had a sore nose.
“I kept asking for antibiotics and another appointment took weeks to get.
“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.”
William is now pinning his hopes on the radiotherapy having been effective enough to stave off the cancer, allowing him to concentrate on facial reconstruction.
He shared: “I’m hoping to have a skin graft to try and rebuild my face within the year.
“I finished with radiotherapy which I’ve been having for six weeks on Wednesday (18/06).
“I can’t thank the surgeons enough; they saved my life.”
The ordeal highlights the agony that can come from enduring such an illness.