A nightclub worker who complained of pain in her mouth near her wisdom teeth for weeks has been diagnosed with cancer.
Roisin O’Leary first felt a lump after being gripped by pain in her mouth in September, and dentists ripped out four troublesome wisdom teeth in a bid to fix the problem.
But after 12 weeks on antibiotics the pain hadn't gone away, so the 29-year-old went for a biopsy and CT scan to further explore the problem.
Four days after these scans in January she was told the pain was actually being caused by a cancerous and deadly lump on her jaw, reports Daily Record.
Roisin has now begun a gruelling six month journey involving chemotherapy, bone reconstruction, skin grafts and a mouth tissue rebuild.
Doctors have told her the intensive treatment - which includes cutting out some of her jaw and replacing it with part of her leg bone - can cure her condition.
Roisin, of Gallowhill, in Paisley, Scotland said: “The jaw is such a rare location to have this type of cancer, so it was not even considered as a possibility at the start.
“But, obviously, there was an inkling something was not right and I went for a biopsy and CT scan in January.
“Four days later, they told me the lump was cancerous and my chemo started on March 4.”
She is now an in-patient at the Beatson Cancer Centre, in Glasgow, and has shorn her long curly locks before they fall out.
Roisin, who worked at Club 69 and the UWS Student Union, is getting different bursts of chemotherapy at up to five a week, and is being allowed home at weekends.
She will soon have an operation to remove the cancer, and this will be followed by another 10 weeks of chemo to ensure the cancer is eradicated.
She said: “I will need three weeks in hospital to recover from the operation, which will be in May. Part of my lower leg bone - the fibula - will be taken out and put in place to rebuild my jaw.
“I will also need skin grafts and tissue in the inside of my mouth. This really has been life-changing. The doctors are regarding my case as curable, as intense as the treatment is.
“It will be about December by the time I am hopefully in the clear. I like to be up and about, so all this sitting down at the moment is a nightmare. I am not the most patient of people.”
Roisin recalls it was around six months after the Covid restrictions were brought in that she noticed the pea-sized lump on her jawline.
“I just thought it was due to the wisdom teeth that had not been taken out and there was an infection," she said.
“All four wisdom teeth were extracted, but the lump did not go away. It just looked like a swollen gland or lymph node and was not visible for anyone looking at me.
“But it did become more visible, it was on the right of my lower mandible. “We were trying every avenue and the hospital thought it was some kind of infection.
“I ended up being on antibiotics for 12 weeks, which, obviously, was not doing anything for me.”
Roisin’s mum Aileen McCreadie and several friends have supported her through the process, although due to her receiving care at Beatson Cancer Centre, in Glasgow, visits are restricted and Facetime is being used to stay in touch.
Roisin said: “During the chemo, I really need to isolate and shield. After lockdown is lifted, all I ask is to be able to see visitors again.
“I know I won’t be going out to pubs or meet friends, but just a visitor would keep me happy and help relieve the isolation.
“I am relying on plenty of Facetime with mum to keep me going.”
Next year, as she turns 30, Roisin plans to follow her dreams of travel and her sister Robyn has set-up a gofundme page to help pay for it as she has no income.
So far, more than £5,000 has been raised. To visit the page go to www.gofund.me/6178a783.
