Dad who was suffering from an "eye of tears" actually had a facial cancer

A father lost half of his face after being diagnosed with cancer.

Graeme Heward, 58, initially thought he had watery eyes. The doctors also told him that he may have "dry eyes" or a blocked punctal canal.

But it turned out that something more sinister was happening and he was finally diagnosed with cancer of the nasal mucosa in 2010.

A father of two, Mr. Heward began treatment immediately, but had been experiencing symptoms for eight months and was therefore late for treatment.

He bravely faced the disease and would eventually lose his right eye, nose and part of his face after 30 surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Mr. Heward, from Lymm, told Liverpool Echo: "I did not feel bad and I lost no weight, it all started with watery eyes.

"When the tumor was discovered, I could actually see the mass coming up, but the doctors originally thought it was benign.

"Later, hearing that the tumor was a cancer was devastating."

To deal with the tumor, he decided to call it "Alien".

He added, "It was too painful to admit that I had cancer. I was embarrassed for some reason, so I called him Alien.

"It was undesirable and unwelcome and it invaded my life."

Last year, Mr. Heward completed a facial reconstruction operation that resulted in a prosthesis and a nose nose.

He also had a skin and muscle graft on his thigh to cover the hole in his face.

Mr. Heward learned that his cancer was terminally ill in 2017; so he decided to change his life so that he did not die faster.

He said, "When I started thinking about what I could do, I discovered about 50 changes I could make to my life to stay healthy.

"I changed diets, reduced the stress of my life, limited my exposure to chemicals, just to name a few.

"I've always been fit and healthy as a physiotherapist, but I've never been as healthy as today."

Heward now travels 1,000 miles to raise funds and raise awareness at Maggie's centers, which help people with cancer.

He plans to visit each of the centers during the next two-week bike tour, as he travels from Swansea to Inverness.

You can donate to his fundraising on his Justgiving page here.