Looking at pretty Fife mum Donna Dempsey you would never know she has had four operations and her nose reconstructed after having skin cancer.
The 43-year-old Fife Council wellbeing management support officer from Glenrothes was diagnosed with the disease 13 and a half years ago.
But what might surprise you is what the mum-of-three says triggered her skin cancer.
And it wasn’t excessive sun exposure or use of sun beds.
“I remember my surgeon telling me it was a nose piercing I got when I was younger that trigged it,” she says.
“At my first consultation with him he told me I was the youngest person in Scotland he had seen with this type of skin cancer.
“As I was only in my early 30s I was told I was too young to have skin cancer due to exposure from the sun.
“So my surgeon said it was more likely triggered by the trauma of my nose piercing.”
She adds: “People can’t believe it when I tell them this – you would never expect to get skin cancer from a nose piercing.”
How a recurring spot turned out to be cancer
In the summer of 2010, Donna – who is originally from Stratford upon Avon – had not long moved to Scotland with her children and partner when she became aware of a spot on her nose.
“I kept getting this spot on my nose which just wasn’t clearing up.
“But I just put it down to stress,” she explains.
“I kept putting creams on it and it would go away.
“But then it would come back again.
“When it did clear, though, I noticed what looked like a circular vein appearing on the side of my nose where it had been.
“I was starting to get annoyed with it so I decided to go to the doctor.
“However, when the doctor saw me he knew straight away what it was.
“Although he never told me what he suspected.
“He referred me to the dermatology department at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.”
Having a biopsy
Donna saw a dermatologist in November 2010.
She continues: “I thought I would go along to the appointment and someone would just look at my nose.
“Yet before I knew what was happening the specialist took a biopsy and I came out with five stitches in it!
“I was quite traumatised by this and still had no idea it was skin cancer.”
A week before Christmas, Donna received a phone call asking her to go into Victoria Hospital to talk about her biopsy results.
“They told me the spot was basal cell carcinoma – skin cancer,” she says.
“I was in complete shock when they told me this.
“I just burst into tears because all I could think about was my three children who were very young at the time.”
“Straight away one of the first questions I asked was – is this going to kill me?
“They couldn’t tell me I definitely wasn’t going to die – they can’t give that guarantee.
“But I remember they did reassure me by saying the percentage of people who die from this cancer is minimal compared to other cancers.”
Surgery to remove the skin cancer
Donna was told she would need to have specialist surgery at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee to remove the skin cancer and her first operation took place on a Friday in the spring of 2011.
“The operation involved them taking out the skin cancer bit by bit and they didn’t stop until they had removed all of it,” she explains.
“Unfortunately I had to stay awake during it because I was told the procedure would be too long to have me put to sleep.
“They were working right by my face so I could see what they were doing.
“And I was in theatre all day for the operation.
“They managed to get all of the skin cancer cells.
“But I was told they only managed to save my nose by half a millimetre so they could reconstruct it.”
Cancer has been growing for eight years
Donna remembers being shocked when her surgeon told her the skin cancer had been growing for eight years.
“It was deep rooted under my skin so they had to dig it out.
“They then covered the area up and I had to go home with a lot of my nose missing.”
After the operation Donna had to go home because she couldn’t stay in hospital over the weekend and leave her three young children.
But three days later she went back to Ninewells Hospital for reconstruction surgery.
Donna’s nose reconstruction
She said: “When I came round I looked at myself in the mirror it was such a shock.
“I can’t even remember how many stitches there were and I also had two black eyes.
“I was just crying – it looked awful.”
Donna returned to the hospital three or four times for more operations over a two-year period.
She said:Â “A year after the last reconstruction surgery, the blood vessels around the area looked very obvious so I had to have laser treatment to try and reduce them.
“I had annual check ups with my surgeon for the next five years.”
When did Donna get her nose pierced?
Donna first had her nose pierced with a piercing gun when she was aged 14 or 15.
Then a few years later she had it re-pierced.
She says: “I haven’t had a piercing for years but the hole was there.
“My surgeon told me he thinks it was the trauma from the nose piercing which triggered my skin cancer.
“I think that is what shocked me the most as no-one ever told me a nose piercing could trigger skin cancer.”
She continues: “While my skin cancer has gone I have never been given the all-clear.
“There is a chance it could come back so if I see anything unusual or any changes in my skin I get it looked at quickly.
“I would also encourage other people to do the same – it’s always safer to get it checked out just in case.”
Protecting skin from the sun
As a result of what she has been through, Donna reveals she now takes extra precautions to protect her skin.
“In the summer I always wear suncream.
“I always wear some face cream which has an SPF in it both in the summer and winter
“As much as I love the sun, I am really mindful of covering myself up.”
Donna credits her daughters Danielle, 27, Nicole, 23 and 15-year-old Anabelle, for inspiring her recovery, adding: “While I am a strong person, it was my kids which kept me driving forward.
“They kept me going and stopped me just thinking about myself.
“I am also really grateful to my surgeons for all the effort they put into my reconstruction.
“They really looked after me from start to finish.
“I can’t thank them enough.”
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