Woman's Beauty Is Ravaged by Deadly skin Cancer After It Spread From A Small Pimple

• Marisha Dotson, from Tennessee, was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma

• Doctors gave her just a 20% chance of survival when they noticed it had spread

• Despite defying expectations, she has suffered permanent damage to her face

• She has lost her nose, parts of her jaw and eight teeth during her 3-year battle

• The cancer stemmed from a small pimple on her nose - which doctors dismissed

A woman who confused deadly cancer for spots has used selfies to document her battle from a face-ravaging disease to smiling with a mouth implant

Marisha Dotson, 28, from Knoxville in Tennessee, has lost her nose, parts of her jaw and eight teeth during her battle with squamous cell carcinoma.

Doctors gave her just a 20 per cent chance of survival when they discovered the aggressive form of skin cancer had spread from the small pimple on her nose.

Despite managing to defy expectations, she has been left with permanent damage to her face and relies on a temporary dental implant to smile and talk.

The cancer all stemmed from a small pimple on her nose three years ago, which even doctors dismissed and suggested was just acne.

Now cancer-free, Miss Dotson doesn't care about her dramatic new appearance, and said she just feels 'lucky to be alive'.

Miss Dotson, who is an orphan, said: 'Cancer took my nose and parts of my jaw, but not my body so I will keep on fighting.

'I earned these scars and should be proud of them as they area testament of my will to live, the blood, sweat and tears I shed to survive.

'I have to use a dental implant now, without it I can't eat or talk because of all the missing bones in my face.

'The damage I have now I will live with for the rest of my life, I've given up on the cosmetic side of things and just feel so lucky to be alive.'

She added: 'Early on, I made a decision that whatever pain I had to go through to live a little longer I would do and also I have a brother to take care of so I have to be around for him.

'Surgeons removed the bone in my hard palette, I lost eight teeth, my sinus cavity and tissue from under my eye and there is also a huge gap on the left side of my face.

'The odds of me surviving this form of cancer were very low as were the surgery success rates, I was given less than a 20 per cent chance of still being here today.

'But now I've had two tests to see if the cancer has come back and both are clear, which has given me hope so I'm very optimistic about the future.'

Her journey started three years ago, when she first noticed a small red pimple-like dot on her nose.

The student counsellor went to her local health service who said they hadn't seen anything like it before and even suggested it could be acne.

When she became concerned

Miss Dotson said it looked like a 'regular pimple'. She only became concerned when it doubled in size and began to make her unwell.


Seeking help from a dermatologist, she was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.

Surgeons operated on her for 15 hours in different stages to remove layers of the cancerous tissue and most of her nose.

But during surgery to remove the squamous cell carcinoma, it was discovered the tumour had spread deep into the tissue.

Miss Dotson said: 'My tumour was like a jellyfish with cancerous tentacles reaching deep into my face.

'After a couple of hours into surgery my reality shifted, the tumour was much deeper than surgeons thought and it was very painful.

'Despite having 300 shots of anaesthetic to my face it still hurt as they continued to cut and burn each layer, so close to my nerves and sinuses.'

Left without most of her nose

So much tissue and cartilage had to be removed during the surgery, that she was left without two-thirds of her nose.

She was given reconstruction surgery using skin from her forehead.

Miss Dotson said: 'I could feel there was a part of my face missing but when I looked in the mirror I was devastated, I had this huge hole where my nose used to be.

'Surgeons took skin from the crown of my head, shaved off a piece of hair and took the skin then flapped it over my nose and took cartilage from my ear.

'To keep the blood supply, they dragged the skin over my nose and it was left hanging off my forehead for a month.'

More spots started to appear

Shortly after the completion of her facial reconstruction, another cancerous spot developed and from there more started to appear over her face.

She added: 'Every spot was cancerous, I was so angry because I had been through so much already having the reconstruction.

'I had one big on my cheek, under my right eye, two big ones on top of the bridge of my nose, one above the left side of my nose and then eight smaller ones under my nostrils.

'The one on my cheek looked scaly but like a blister too, the others were more like little raised pimples or spots.

'I went back into surgery to have them removed and came out looking like Frankenstein's monster, they had to take so much out on my nose, nostril and lip that I needed skin grafts.'

After a total of more than 30 surgeries to remove all of the tumours, reconstruction and fit in a temporary mouth piece to allow her to talk and eat, she is finally cancer-free.

She said: 'Before I had gotten so used to bad results that I couldn't believe it when something good happened in September, I started crying and have even framed my pathology report.

'I still feel sad sometimes but I always remind myself of what I've overcome, I had the choice from surgeons to keep fighting or give up and die, but I chose to fight.

'I try really hard to be positive and even though I'm cancer free now, I've had to sacrifice a lot to get to this point.'

Left with hefty medical bills

Miss Dotson, who lost her mother at the age of 16, credits doctors for saving her life, many of whom worked for lower-rates to help her get the treatment she needed.

Despite this she has been left with hefty medical bills and is hoping for a permanent mouth implant.

She said: 'I'm fundraising for a permanent mouth piece not covered by insurance so that I don't have to struggle with constant infections.

'Then because I'm still recovering from surgery my disability benefits only cover rent, so I'm trying to save anything I can to pay off my bills.

'I've beaten cancer multiple times and overcome some truly scary odds, some of my friends call me 'the walking miracle' and I don't argue with them because it's true.'


Source