My dog sniffed out cancer and saved my life: Father-of-two, 65, who had half his face removed after his collie cross Jessie alerted him to a tumour urges others not to ignore their symptoms

A father-of-two who had half his faced removed after his dog sniffed out an aggressive cancerous tumour, has urged people not to ignore their symptoms. 

Mark Allen, from Warwick, was given just weeks to live in November 2017 and underwent a 10-hour operation to remove the cancer from his nose.

The now 65-year-old ignored his symptoms for 12 months — meaning the tumour had spread across most of the right side of his face — and was in need of major reconstruction surgery.

This involved replacing his cheekbone with his pelvis bone, removing his right eye socket and swapping out his jaw for titanium plates.

The previous year, Mr Allen noticed his collie cross Jessie was acting strangely — nudging, pawing and becoming overly affectionate towards him — but he thought nothing of it at the time. 

It wasn't until he visited his GP the following year that he realised his dog's unusual behaviour was down to her astounding sense of smell. 

'In 2016, Jessie seemed to be getting more and more affectionate, but I didn't put two and two together until much later,' Mr Allen said. 

'I was presenting on stage at an event in 2017 and I felt really ill. I couldn't breathe properly and it was just getting progressively worse.

'I noticed a polyp in my right nostril and went to see an ear, nose and throat specialist at the beginning of October that year. 

'The consultant kept furrowing his brow, going 'oh, it's funny how it's on one side. These things can turn a bit nasty' — and that's when it clicked.

'I had read articles about dogs being able to smell cancers and heart conditions. 

'About a month after the operation to remove the polyp, I had the results back from histology and I kind of expected it to be cancer because of how Jessie had been behaving.'

Mr Allen said Jessie, who was 10 at the time, was the 'critical trigger' which led to him getting seen when he did. She sadly passed away in 2019. 

'She was unbelievable', Mr Allen said. 'When we first got her we were having building work done and she'd run up to complete strangers, launch herself off all four legs and smash full face into your chest. She thought this was tremendous fun'.

Research suggests that dogs can detect many types of cancers in humans. 

All smells give off volatile organic compounds detected by scent (olfactory) receptors in the noses of dogs and humans. 

Dogs have more receptors than humans and therefore can detect VOCs in a person's skin, breath, urine, feces and sweat.

With training, dogs are able to alert people to their presence.

 In 2021, researchers from Nippon Medical School, in Tokyo, found that a dog trained to detect signs of breast cancer in urine was able to detect it with 100% accuracy among urine samples from 200 people.

Of these, 40 had breast cancer, 182 had other cancers, and 18 had no cancer.

Researchers are currently exploring the possibility of using specially-trained medical detection dogs in diagnosing and tracking cancer. 

Mr Allen, who is chief executive of a consultancy business, spent more than 10 hours on the operating table whilst surgeons removed the tumour.

His cheek bone was replaced with a chunk of his pelvis bone, surgeons swapped out his jaw for titanium plates, and they re-built the roof of his mouth and throat with tissue from his abdomen. 

They also removed his eye socket and took away the lymph nodes and saliva glands from the right side of his neck to stop the cancer spreading any further. 

Now Mr Allen has been given the all clear, he wants to ensure that others don't find themselves in the same life-threatening situation.

Mr Allen has teamed up with UK charity, the Get A-Head Charitable Trust, to raise awareness of the risks of head and neck cancer in the run-up to World Head and Neck Cancer Day on July 27.

He added: 'Had I gone to the doctors earlier, I'm sure the treatment would not have been as severe, but I'd allowed the cancer to get to stage 4. 

'I asked the consultant what would happen if I did not have surgery and he replied to say I would be dead within weeks.

'Our faces are like our most visible fingerprint. They are a massive part of our identity and the thought of disfigurement to your face is daunting, but I had no choice but to go ahead with the operation.'

Following the operation and several weeks of recovery, Mark then also had to undergo intensive radiotherapy.

'I lost three and half stone, the hair on the one side of my head and I also lost all taste so eating was about survival,' explained Mark.

'You just never know when something might strike that is going to change your life significantly. 

'I'll never be quite the same as I was but when I was diagnosed, I promised myself two things – that I wouldn't feel sorry for myself and that some good would come out of my situation.

'My advice to others is not to ignore symptoms. If something is not right, go and seek some consultation.'

Danni Heath, Director of Get A-Head Trust, said: 'Mark's story is inspirational. It's one of hope and survival but also one of reality for many people.

'In the UK, the number of head and neck cancer cases are increasing by 3 per cent a year and unfortunately most cases are diagnosed at either stage three or four making treatment lengthier and more invasive.

'At Get A-Head, we've made it our mission to improve the lives of these people by funding research, education and the provision of equipment but we very much hope people will take note of Mark's valuable advice and seek medical help should they have any symptoms they might be concerned about.'

The key symptoms for head and neck cancer include persistent sore throats, painful or difficulty swallowing, nose bleeds, earache and speech problems.

For more information about the Get A-Head Charity visit getahead.org.uk.