However, the Manchester mother discovered she had skin cancer three years later, and the tumor had grown all the way to her lip.
\nThree years earlier, in April 2015, I had been about to go out to work as a nursing assistant when I had noticed a small spot on the inside of my right nostril.
\nI didn\u2019t think anything of it at the time \u2013 I just thought it was a spot that would clear up on its own. But a few weeks later it was still there.
\nI went to see my GP, who said it looked like an infection and gave me an antibiotic cream to put on. I used it twice a day, but it still didn\u2019t clear up.<\/p>\n
But I didn\u2019t dwell on it. My partner Colin and I had busy lives.<\/p>\n
We\u2019d been together since 1989 and we both had grown up children from previous relationships. Any free time we had we spent with our family.<\/p>\n
But in July 2018, I noticed the spot had started growing outside of my nose.<\/p>\n
It looked as though it was spreading from my nose down onto my upper lip.<\/p>\n
My face was covered with scars. I looked hideous and I couldn\u2019t stop crying<\/p>\n
Tracy Summerfield53<\/p>\n
I went back to my GP, who this time referred me for an emergency appointment with an ear nose and throat specialist, for a biopsy and scan.<\/p>\n
Even though the spot was slightly painful and irritating, I was still convinced it was nothing sinister and told Colin I\u2019d go on my own to get the results.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d never expected to hear such awful news. \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d the consultant said. \u201cWe have found a cancerous tumour at the back of your nose.\u201d<\/p>\n
My friend Mary, who had come to the appointment, put her arms around me. I couldn\u2019t move or speak.<\/p>\n
The consultant explained that the growth was 2cm by 3cm and the cancer had spread to the skin on my upper lip.<\/p>\n
He told me I\u2019d need surgery to remove the tumour but it was likely to leave my face disfigured.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be scared for life?\u201d I asked him, with tears in my eyes. I was distraught, but what upset me most was wondering how I was going to tell Colin and the children.<\/p>\n
I needed to get better so I could be around for my family.<\/p>\n
That night, when Colin got home, I sat him down and told him everything.<\/p>\n
Skin cancer: the facts
\nSkin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world.<\/p>\n
Around 147,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are diagnosed each year but there are just 13,500 cases of the more serious condition melanoma.<\/p>\n
If you have any lump, ulcer, lesion or skin colouration which hasn\u2019t healed after four weeks, see a GP.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s probably not cancer, but it\u2019s best to get it checked.<\/p>\n
Skin cancer is normally treated with surgery. 90% of non-melanoma cases are successfully cured, but 2,000 Brits die every year from melanoma.<\/p>\n
Before he could get upset, I got down on one knee, and took his hand. \u201cWill you marry me?\u201d I asked him. We\u2019d never felt the need to get married, but now my priorities had changed.<\/p>\n
Colin pulled me to my feet. \u201cNothing would make me happier,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I told our kids about the cancer, but followed up with the happy news about our engagement, refusing to let them get too upset.<\/p>\n
We\u2019d already booked a holiday to Barbados that November to celebrate Colin\u2019s 50th birthday so we decided we would get married there, just the two of us.<\/p>\n
I knew there was a risk I\u2019d be facially disfigured at my wedding, but marrying Colin was the thing that mattered.<\/p>\n
In August 2018, I had my first operation to remove the tumour.<\/p>\n
When I woke four hours later, my nose and top lip were packed with bandages.<\/p>\n
I was in pain, but I was discharged that day to recover at home.<\/p>\n
Surgeons had managed to remove all traces of the cancer, so I didn\u2019t need chemotherapy or radiotherapy.<\/p>\n
Instead, I could focus on my next operation and our wedding.<\/p>\n
My nose was packed with sterile bandages and I was in too much pain to leave the house.<\/p>\n
Underneath the bandages, there was one big hole were my nostrils once were. I didn\u2019t see how I could ever look the same again.<\/p>\n
Colin told me he loved me no matter what, but I was still distraught. I didn\u2019t know how to accept my new face<\/p>\n
Tracy Summerfield53<\/p>\n
Three weeks later, I had more surgery. The operation went better than expected.<\/p>\n
Surgeons had managed to take skin from the side of my face and put it over my top lip, building me a new septum with cartilage from my ear.<\/p>\n
But three weeks later, when the stitches were removed, I saw what was left behind. My face was covered with scars. I looked hideous and I couldn\u2019t stop crying.<\/p>\n
Colin told me he loved me no matter what, but I was still distraught. I didn\u2019t know how to accept my new face.<\/p>\n
With just five weeks before our wedding, I knew my scars would still be visible so I got in touch with Look Good Feel Better, a charity that does makeovers for women who have suffered from cancer.<\/p>\n
In October 2018, I had a trial op at Maggie\u2019s Cancer Centre, Oldham. Looking in the mirror afterwards, I couldn\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d disguised my scars and they were barely noticeable. \u201cI look like me again,\u201d I cried.<\/p>\n
On the morning of the wedding, I remembered what the make-up artist had taught me and used the samples she\u2019d given me to conceal the scars on my face.<\/p>\n
An hour later, I was ready and walked down the aisle in the gown I\u2019d bought especially.<\/p>\n
When I met Colin on the beach and we exchanged vows, he couldn\u2019t take his eyes off me. \u201cYou look stunning,\u201d he told me.<\/p>\n
For us both, it was such a memorable and poignant day. My wounds still exist after more than a year, but I\u2019m learning to live with them.
\nThey are known as my warrior scars. They serve as a reminder that I am still here in spite of everything I have been through.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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