Gran needed surgery to remove her face after going to doctors with what she thought was a 'bogey'

18.03.2022 - 14:19 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

A grandmother whose “bogey” was an aggressive form of skin cancer is terrified that life-saving surgery to "remove" her face and replace it with a prosthetic will leave her "looking like Freddy Krueger”. When mum-of-three Sheila Chadwick, 64, first felt something in her right nostril in January 2021 and could not wipe it away, she was not worried as her GP thought it was simply a wart - only for her life to be turned upside down by a cancer diagnosis six months later. After the "wart" spread to cover her entire nose, she had two major operations and 40 gruelling rounds of radiotherapy, only for the cancer to persist. She now needs surgery later this month to remove her nose, top lip and part of her top gum in a bid to survive.

Grandmother-of-four Sheila, a former supermarket worker, who lives in Bradford, West Yorkshire, with husband David Chadwick, 64, said: "As difficult as this time is for us, he has always been there for me.

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“I’ve had a hellish year, and I’m worried about the future. I don’t know if I will be able to cope without a face. Our lives will change forever, but I'm so grateful to have David by my side, where he has been for 34 years.

"We are both determined to live for each other and for our children and grandchildren." And in addition to the devastating disease, surgery to remove the cancer in her nose and upper lip has been disfiguring. No longer the fresh-faced young woman with clear skin and jet black hair she was when she and David met, Sheila describes her appearance now as "horrifying" and says her grandson Tyler, nine, is too scared to look at her. She said: “Doctors say they can provide me with a