A woman whose face was savaged by skin cancer has told how her wonky smile inspired hundreds of people to embrace their quirks.
Emma Hatfield-Wilson, 37, of Hive in Southampton, always loved beach holidays and would prepare by going on sun-beds – but she would never wear sun cream.
In March this year, two months after noticing a pea-sized lump in her neck, she was diagnosed with skin cancer – her second brush with the disease, after suffering breast cancer at 34.
Emma Hatfield-Wilson, 37, was diagnosed with skin cancer and following the removal of the seven tumours, it left her with a lopsided smile. Now she wants to warn others of the dangers of the sun
Following surgery to remove the seven tumours which were found down the left hand side of her face, neck, and shoulder, the primary school teacher was left with a lopsided smile.
Conscious of this, she did not want to go out until her sister Lucy Lloyd, 26, posted a picture of her smile to Facebook with the hashtag ‘wonky smile’.
The photo went viral – with both friends and strangers sharing images of ‘wonky’ grins in support and helping to give Miss Hatfield-Wilson the confidence to embrace her new look.
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Now she is speaking out to warn other people to wear sun-cream.
‘I’ve always been a complete fan of the sun,’ she said. ‘I’d go away twice a year to somewhere hot and would use the sun-beds beforehand.
‘I was so ignorant about skin cancer and feel silly now.
‘My sister posted on Facebook saying “Emma defeated breast cancer only to have recently been diagnosed with a bad skin cancer. Despite all of this, she has returned after surgery with a beautiful smile, although slightly wonky. I thought it would be great if we could show her our support by posting our wonky smiles.”
‘Soon the post went viral, and it made me feel honoured.’
Emma, before she had skin cancer, , always loved beach holidays and would prepare by going on sun-beds – but she would never wear sun cream
Following surgery to remove the seven tumours which were found down the left hand side of her face, neck, and shoulder, the primary school teacher was left with a lopsided smile. Emma’s face following the operation with 20 stitches, left, and 40 stitches, right
Miss Hatfield-Wilson used to use sunbeds before going on holiday to get a base tan, oblivious to the harm they could cause.
She used them for about five years before diagnosis, twice a year for six sessions.
On top of this, she would spend the whole holiday on the beach, but would not wear sun cream.
Then in January this year, she felt a pea-sized lump in her neck – but having been run down at work, she assumed it was a swollen gland.
By the end of the month, when the lump was still there, she visited her GP. She was referred to the Southampton General Hospital for a scan and a fine needle aspiration, a procedure to remove a sample for testing.
Results identified cancer cells and, after a biopsy at the end of March, she was diagnosed with melanoma, a type of skin cancer that can spread to other organs in the body.
‘Initially I was relieved because I assumed with skin cancer it could just be cut out,’ Miss Hatfield-Wilson, who lives with her 18-year-old son Jamie said.
‘But soon the reality sunk in and I was scared. Sadly this wasn’t my first brush with cancer.
‘I suffered from breast cancer three years ago, had my breasts removed and reconstructed, and went through a vigorous eight months of chemotherapy.
‘I got the all-clear in November 2014 at Southampton General Hospital.’
Conscious of her wonky smile, she did not want to go out until her sister Lucy Lloyd, 26, posted a picture of her smile to Facebook with the hashtag ‘wonky smile’. The photo went viral – with both friends and strangers sharing images of ‘wonky’ grins in support and helping to give Miss Hatfield-Wilson the confidence to embrace her new look
By March, the lump in Miss Hatfield-Wilson’s neck was ‘huge’ and the lump obvious to people.
She went to see a dermatologist at the Royal South Hants Hospital in Southampton to find out where it had started.
Test results at the end of April revealed the cancer had begun in a couple of small birth marks on the left hand side of her face which she had her whole life, and which never looked ‘sinister’.
She said: ‘I was gobsmacked. I had thought that skin cancer was from a dodgy mole that may have changed or got bigger.’
Doctors at the Southampton General Hospital did a scan to find out exactly where the tumours were, and discovered seven – one in her parodic gland in the left hand side of her face, one in her left shoulder, and five in the left side of her neck.
Surgeons performed modified radical neck dissection to cut the lump out and she had 40 staples and 20 stitches down the left side of her face on May 18.
Her sister posted on Facebook saying: ‘Emma defeated breast cancer only to have recently been diagnosed with a bad skin cancer. Despite all of this, she has returned after surgery with a beautiful smile, although slightly wonky. I thought it would be great if we could show her our support by posting our wonky smiles’
Strangers and her friends, including her pal Tara, left, and Karen Kane, right, joined in on the social media campaign by posting pictures of themselves with wonky smiles
Test results at the end of April revealed the cancer had begun in a couple of small birth marks on the left hand side of her face which she had her whole life, and which never looked ‘sinister’, left. Right: The swollen lump in Emma’s face before removal
In four weeks’ time, Miss Hatfield-Wilson, pictured healing after the operation, begins a six week course of radiotherapy. She has been warned she will lose her hair, her voice will change, she will suffer fatigue, and that there is a strong chance she will need to use a feeding tube whilst undergoing treatment and possibly after
‘It was completely overwhelming,’ she said. ‘I thought there was only one lump. They also removed 33 lymph nodes and neck muscle, because they knew it had spread to two lymph nodes but didn’t know how many more could be cancerous.’
When the parodic gland, which controls movement and operates the nerves down the left hand side of her face was removed, Miss Hatfield-Wilson was left with a ‘wonky smile’ and limited movement down that side of her face.
She said she gets stared at while out in public and is often asked if she has been attacked.
In four weeks’ time, Miss Hatfield-Wilson begins a six week course of radiotherapy. She has been warned she will lose her hair, her voice will change, she will suffer fatigue, and that there is a strong chance she will need to use a feeding tube whilst undergoing treatment and possibly after.
Then she will have a scan in September.
Her message to people now is to stay out of the sun, to wear sun-cream and never use sun-beds.
She said: ‘Now I use factor 50, I cover up, wear a hat, and stay in the shade.
‘If you want a tan get a spray tan.’
www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk