A man was left with a hole in his face after his severe eye cancer was misdiagnosed as a migraine. Danny Hunt, 58, had to get his right eye removed along with bones in his nose and jaw.
The father of four initially suffered from headaches and throat infections in 2008 and his doctor diagnosed him with laryngitis. After going for a second opinion, he was told that he must be suffering from migraines.
However, when a lump began to grow next to his eye, he and wife Mandy went to Moorfield Eye Hospital in London, Metro reported.
Mandy, from Islington, north London, said: "They said there's something not right – there's something at the back of your eye."
There the specialists told Hunt that he had a tumor with 'spider legs' – indicating a particularly nasty form of eye cancer. In 2009, his right eye along with a bone in his nose and jaw were removed. "He has had so many operations," Mandy said. "Because there's no bone in his nose, everything comes out of his nose. The bone underneath the brain has crumbled."
A 'flap of skin' was created by doctors to cover the hole that was left after the surgery. After the surgery and before the flap, it was his son Stephen, 24, helped clean out anything that got stuck in his nose.
Before being diagnosed with cancer, he underwent a different surgery after doctors found a bout of tuberculosis that 'crystallized' the sack around his heart. The upper part of his right lung also had to be removed. He was also diagnosed with Marfan syndrome -- a genetic disorder affecting a person's body's tissue.
According to Mandy the last few years has been 'heartbreaking' for their family. She said: "He was healthy, energetic. He used to work 16 hours a day. He just wanted to give his kids everything. He's such a hard worker. He loved his job. They expected him to die." They said: "you are lucky to be alive".
She added: "That's because so much was wrong with him. She says her husband is now embarrassed to be seen in public and children often don't understand. It's just heartbreaking when all this has come about,' Hunt said. I can't believe what we have been through."
