The plan my Onco consultant Dr Kristeleit had for the isolated node on my neck after chemotherapy was to have it removed by an ENT (Head, Neck & Throat) specialist which came in the form of Mr Alex Rovira. He specializes in head and neck pathology with a particular interest in head and neck cancer including laryngeal cancer, salivary gland cancer and transoral robotic surgery.

Mr Alex Rovira and I had our first consultation on the 30th of September 2020 at Guy’s Hospital. He had informed me my scan had been discussed during their team meeting and that it was operable with very low risks of permanent damage.

I saw him again in January 2021 for an update and again he informed me he was ready to remove the node whenever chemotherapy was finished and the Onco team gave him the go-ahead.

It’s now 17th March and chemotherapy has ended. Mr Rovira has now been given the go-ahead by Dr Kristeleit to remove the node.

During my most recent meeting with Mr Rovira, he explained how the operation would be performed, he mentioned that if he found other lymph nodes next to or around the node in question while operating, those nodes would also be removed too.

I will be spending one night in the hospital as a drain would be inserted at the operation site. He gave me possible dates of when the operation could take place but said he would call me once the MRI scan which he just requested has been done and that all would be very soon. I thanked him and left the ENT department.

I was invited for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Contrast Dye (MRI Contrast) of the neck scan. This is a type of scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body. An MRI scanner is a large tube that contains powerful magnets.

Contrast Dye is used for certain conditions, contrast can effectively highlight areas of interest and help in making a more accurate and more specific diagnosis. Contrast dye is mainly injected into a vein in the hand (the method used on me) or arm during the scan.

In MRI, the contrast used contains a naturally occurring substance called Gadolinium, which is typically attached to other compounds so that it can be used in the human body without causing any harm.

Today is Monday 22nd March 2021: I received a call from the ENT team informing me of the date for my surgery. Because of COVID-19, my surgery pre-assessment would be online and I needed to complete some forms. A home COVID-19 kit test would be biked to my home address with instructions. I thanked Maxine from the ENT admin team and hung up.

Today is Wednesday 24th March: A call came through from the pre-assessment team with dates of when to come in to complete the part of my assessment that can only be done by a nurse in the hospital like taking blood, stats, and swab tests.

Today is Friday 26th March: I arrived at the pre-assessment department at Guy’s Hospital early and was met by a very kind nurse who performed the rest of the pre-operative assessment which involved the taking of blood samples, blood pressure, swabs, height, and weight.

Today is Tuesday 6th April: The COVID-19 test kit van arrived midday, with a gentleman handing me a little box with my name on it. He instructed me on what to do and handed the kit over.

I ran into my apartment, washed my hands, blew my nose then opened the kit. It contained two small tubes, a sticker with my details on it plus a little instruction manual.

Read through quickly then opened the tube containing a swab, swabbed the back of my throat first then each nostril, placed the swab into the second smaller tube then snapped the end of the swab so it fitted perfectly, screwed the lid on, my details on a sticky label were stock onto the side of the tube, all was placed back into the box and resealed then handed back to the gentleman in the van who carefully placed the box at the back of the van.

Today is Wednesday 7th April: Received a text alert from GSTT.NHS.UK that my coronavirus (COVID-19) is NEGATIVE. Now I’m ready for my surgery tomorrow.

Today is Thursday 8th April: My Super Selective Neck Dissection surgery with Mr Rovira at Guy’s hospital was this morning. I arrived at the ENT pre-Surgery Assessment Department before 7 AM and waited for the doors to be opened for admissions.

Once the doors were opened things moved quite quickly. My surgery prep nurse introduced herself and the final preps were carried out, starts, another COVID-19 test, some blood, and a pregnancy test.

The consent form was signed after one of the doctors went through all that could/would happen. The anaesthetist walked in next to explain the method to be used in putting me to sleep and more signing of consent forms.

A cannula was inserted on the back of my left arm and the anaesthetist walked me into the surgery room where I met the team for the surgery. I was asked to lay on the operating table and cover up. I was first given some oxygen to make me relax then the general anaesthetic was administered via the cannula on the back of my left arm and I drifted off into a pleasant sleep.

I woke up in the recovery room with a nurse looking down at me and asking if I was in any pain. I answered “no” then looked at the clock in front of me, the time was 11.10 AM. I drifted in and out of sleep till I became fully conscious. I still had some of the monitors on my body and I could hear the machine taking my starts every twenty or thirty minutes with the nurse monitoring and taking notes.

I noticed my throat felt quite scratched and sore. It was one of the things I was warned would/could happen. It’s from the tube being put down my throat so I could breathe during surgery.

A few hours later I was wheeled into the ward where I would spend the night under observation. As soon as my belongings were given back to me I sent out messages to my loved ones that I was in recovery and that surgery was over.

Shortly after that, Mr Rovira appeared by my bedside with a junior doctor. He informed me the surgery had gone better than anticipated. The node in question was identified and taken out. It had shrunk and hardened and normal healthy nodes around it were taken out too as he had previously informed me. The area was dry so there was no need to insert a drain.

I would be contacted early next week on when to come into Guy’s to get the stitches removed and he would see me again in two weeks’ time. He advised that I go home asap to rest up.

Called my close girlfriend, with whom I’d arranged to be released in the morning the following day that I was cleared to go home and as lovely as she was said she would be on her way to Guy’s.

While waiting to be released I was given the menu for dinner and to my surprise, they had an African and Caribbean menu too. I looked through and opted for the Nigerian rice and chicken stew.

The kind angel in charge of serving the meals assured me I would be served first because it had been almost twenty four hours since my last meal and I was beginning to shiver from lack of food. As soon as it arrived I ate slowly as my throat was extremely sore. It tasted ok for Nigerian rice and chicken stew served in a hospital in the UK.

Shortly after my meal, I slept off. I was woken by a nurse who informed me my sister was outside the ward to pick me up. Already dressed, the nurse helped me with my bags and handed me over to lovely, adorable, kind sister, Jane.

We waited a few minutes for an Uber outside the hospital and were back at mine thirty minutes later. It was such a beautiful, rare, warm evening so we placed a takeaway order to an Oriental takeaway down my road and strolled down to collect our order.

After eating and prepping for bed, my sister from another mother reluctantly went home. Thankful all had gone well, I popped into bed, prayed then drifted off.

Spent the next few days at home nursing a very sore throat, taking things very slow, and giving my body the TLC it needed to heal. Had a lot of video calls with friends and family so the days moved on quite quickly.

Today is Thursday 15th April: Exactly a week later, I’m booked to get my stitches removed with an ENT nurse at Guy’s hospital. There wasn’t a specified time as I also had my second vaccination jab earlier in the day before heading to Guy’s.

I arrived at Guy’s ENT before 12 PM as planned and I was met by a really lovely nurse who assured me I was in safe hands. She removed the dressing, cleaned, and removed the stitches without me feeling any pain.

We talked while she worked and she informed me the stitches were very neatly done and that my surgery point was healing really well considering I had surgery a week ago. She recommended I use Bio-Oil on the scar and we talked about keloid scarring. Some Africans and Asians have to deal with this condition after surgery.

Keloid Scarring: also known as keloid disorder and keloidal scar, is the formation of a type of scar which, depending on its maturity, is composed mainly of either type III (early) or type I (late) collagen. It is a result of an overgrowth of granulation tissue (collagen type 3) at the site of a healed skin injury which is then slowly replaced by collagen type 1. Keloids are firm, rubbery lesions or shiny, fibrous nodules and can vary from pink to the colour of the person’s skin or red to dark brown in colour.

I expressed my delight and gratitude at not having to deal with keloid scarring too after all I had just endured. I thanked the ENT nurse and left Guy’s.

Today is Friday 16th April: A day after the stitches were taken out at Guy’s. Recovering from the Super Selective Neck Dissection surgery, Paclitaxel chemotherapy, and the side effect of the second vaccination jab. Giving myself and my body all the attention it needs to fully recover back to being her new self.

Today is Wednesday 21st April: I received an unexpected call from Mr Rovira, my ENT consultant, and surgeon. He wanted to know how I had been feeling almost two weeks post-surgery? He informed me he had made some inquiries into the nodes removed.

The surgery wasn’t as complicated as he had thought it would be once the area was opened up. The affected node wasn’t attached to anything but it was surrounded by lots of vital vessels which helped with mobility and from my answers to his questions, thankfully none of those vital vessels were damaged during surgery which was his main concern.

The node in question had shrunk down and had seven millimetres of HER2 positive carcinoma and nothing else was found in the other nodes removed. Mr Rovira was certain I should fully recover without any complications and the swelling around the surgery area will go down but will take some weeks.

We both decided to have a face-to-face consultation in July as a final follow-up and discharge. There was no need to attend my appointment with him on Friday 23rd April. We bid each other fair-well and he hung up.

Today is Friday 23rd April: The protective plasters came off the surgical area today. It looks extremely raw and still feels very sore.

Now that the protective plasters have fallen off, I’m using Bio-Oil and the scar healing range Cica-Botanic balm and oil by Decleor. I trust Decleor products and have used their face and body range since my late teens.

Today is Saturday 8th May: Exactly a month since the Super Selective Neck Dissection surgery with Mr Rovira at Guy’s hospital. The pain and discomfort around the surgical area have decreased, the swelling has reduced significantly and the stitched area is healing well. I’m still having to be very careful while doing literally everything but the healing is definitely happening.

Today is Tuesday 1st June: An unscheduled call came through this afternoon from my ENT consultant Mr Alex Rovira from Guy’s. He wanted to know how I had been healing and feeling since we last talked a few weeks ago. I happily relayed all which has been going well. The bump on the surgery point is slowly going down and the point of entry is healing in a straight line which should eventually heal flat.

I expressed a few concerns and he assured me those were not due to the lymph nodes removal. He advised ensuring I inform my Onco consultant on my next visit. As all was perfect from his end he informed me this was a perfect time to discharge me from his care with the option of reaching out to him should I need to. I thanked him for his expert care and time and we said goodbye.

Today is Tuesday 8th June: Two months post node removal and the surgical site is healing very well. The bump is really taking some time to flatten so I guess it’s going to be a very slow journey back to my new normal neckline.

Today is Wednesday 8th July: It’s now three months post my super selective neck dissection surgery with Guy’s ENT surgeon Mr Rovira. The surgical scar and bump are healing very well from the outside however both the inward and outward healing will take several months more.

During one of my phone conversations with Mr Rovira, he had mentioned that a complete recovery from the dissection surgery would take months and not expect full normality too quickly.