A model has told of her ordeal after a routine dentist appointment sparked her fatal battle with cancer.
Elly Brown, now 45 and of Henderson, Nevada, said her dentist “examined my tongue as usual and felt a lump.”
She was diagnosed with stage one oral squamous cell carcinoma, which is usually harmless, and a small piece of her tongue was cut out.
But a year later, when “debilitating” pain broke out in her ear, doctors said the cancer had returned and was now stage three, meaning it had spread to her lymph nodes.
She was sent for a 12-hour procedure in which doctors cut out half of her tongue and part of her jaw before rebuilding it with tissue and bone from her leg – an operation that left her face swollen.
Elly Brown, now 45, of Nevada, was diagnosed with oral cancer after doctors discovered a lump on her tongue. She is pictured above after surgery
The cancer was initially in the first stage and was removed with a small operation. But a year later it returned and was in stage three, meaning it had spread to the lymph nodes near the tongue. To treat the cancer, Elly had half of her tongue and part of her jaw removed. She is pictured with the scar on her face after the operation
Mrs. Brown has since recovered and the cancer has not returned, and she has returned to media work in production.
The singer and on-camera host also suffers from lichen planus, a condition in which the immune system attacks the skin, causing purple, flat and itchy bumps or lesions.
The condition is rare and affects about one to two percent of Americans, typically between the ages of 30 and 60.
But patients suffering from it are sent for regular oral examinations to check for lesions in the mouth and any cancers that may occur.
Because of the ongoing inflammation, lichen planus can increase the risk of oral cancer in the long term.
About 54,000 adults are diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma each year – and the risk is more than twice as high in men as in women.
According to the American Cancer Society, about 70 percent of cancer patients live more than five years after their diagnosis.
The five-year survival rate is as high as 84 percent for patients whose cancer is diagnosed early, but drops to 41 percent if the cancer is discovered after it has spread to other parts of the body.
When she was diagnosed in 2017, aged 39, Ms Brown said: “My oral surgeon examined my tongue as usual and felt a lump.”
“He actually said, ‘It doesn’t look good.’ This is not exactly what you want to hear from your oral surgeon, but my lichen planus has been getting worse for years.
“He did a biopsy and it was positive for cancer; Squamous cell carcinoma.’
Mrs. Brown didn’t look in the mirror for several days after the surgery, she said, but when she did, she described the bump as looking like a volleyball.
She also had a tracheostomy, which opened a hole in her throat (pictured) so she could eat and breathe until her mouth healed.
Elly is pictured above after the operation. The scar is visible from her lip to her chin
She added: “Nobody can fully prepare you for being told you have cancer. ‘For about a week I couldn’t eat, sleep or concentrate.’
“I remember being on the verge of tears at my regular hair appointment, afraid that all my hair was going to fall out anyway [even though I’d not had chemotherapy yet].’
Doctors removed the lump with minor surgery, but could not provide radiation therapy because of her lichen planus.
REVEALED: Lesser known symptoms of oral cancer
Doctors claim that these symptoms can be a sign of oral cancer – a disease that affects thousands of people every year.
But a year later, she began experiencing pain in her ear that quickly became “unbearable,” leading doctors to determine that the cancer had returned.
“I went back and asked for a re-examination and re-biopsy,” she said, “and it turned out the cancer had come back and it was stage three.”
“I remember my surgeons telling me what they had to do to my body to save me.”
“They said I needed a hemiglossectomy, where half of my tongue was removed, and a mandibulectomy, where my jaw was replaced with bone from my leg.
“I will also need a tracheostomy so I can breathe in hospital for five months and a feeding tube.”
“And I would have a big scar from my lip over my chin and around my jaw.”
During a tracheostomy, doctors drill a small hole at the base of the neck that connects to the trachea, or trachea, so that a person can breathe and eat without using their mouth.
In May 2018, Ms. Brown underwent the 12-hour surgeries, which also included repairing her tongue and jaw flap with tissue from her bone.
She said:My plastic surgeon and her team were very compassionate and did their best to preserve the natural shape of my face.
“Not an easy task!
“After the tumor was removed, they removed the necessary tissue from my leg and reconstructed my face.”
“I was in hospital for about nine days recovering and had drains all over my body which became loose over time.”
Ms Brown, who is also a singer and on-camera presenter, is pictured above after surgery
Doctors rebuilt her jaw and tongue with tissue grafts from her bone (pictured)
The scar from her tracheostomy is pictured above
Mrs. Brown is pictured above with her boyfriend
She said she was very pleased with the doctors’ work to preserve her facial features as much as possible
A few days after the operation, she decided to look in the mirror.
“For the first few days, I didn’t look in the mirror,” she said. “But when I finally did, I was in awe of everything they did to save my life.
“The left side of my face was the size of a volleyball. The stitches were fresh and deep.
“No one wants to look in the mirror and see so much physical trauma, but I knew how lucky I was to be alive.”
She then received chemotherapy and radiation and had to learn to walk again due to leg surgery.
She said: “I had to take everything one day at a time.”
“The feeding tube was rough and getting sick from the chemotherapy was terrible.”
“But friends and family came to me and we made the best of it.”
“My family did everything they could to help me, including driving me to the dog park in a wheelchair so I could play with dogs.”
In 2020 Ms. Brown also underwent surgery to treat the scar on her face.
She now has a scan every year to make sure she is free of oral cancer and the scans have been clear ever since.
In the years since her diagnosis, Ms. Brown also found a new career path: as vice president of production at Network Media.
She added: “Thankfully, I have been free of oral cancer since my aggressive treatment five years ago.”
“These days I feel wonderful and full of gratitude.”
“I am healthy and can do everything that I could not do during my treatment: breathe independently, walk and exercise, chew and swallow, speak and sing.”
“I also sincerely hope that everyone who hears my story will help spread the word about this type of cancer and encourage their friends and family to seek early treatment if they experience strange symptoms.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
