FOR months, Natalie Blandford was told she was suffering from toothache.

The pain was so intense she went to see doctors and a dentist, but each time she was given antibiotics to treat an infection.

For months multiple experts missed the growing tumour in Natalie's face, despite an X-ray in which her family say it could clearly be seen.

Now, a year after first complaining of pain and trying to get an appointment, she is facing an incredibly rare cancer – stage 4 carcinoma of the sinus – which cannot be cured.

The 39-year-old first started having intense pain in her mouth in January 2021.

Medics assumed she had an infection and kept giving her antibiotics, as the tumour grew.

Within months it had spread to her upper mouth, sinus, eye and nose and become inoperable.

Her mum, Gill, said: "I think it's so scary at the moment, there's so many people that are fobbed off, and for him [the dentist] not to notice.

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"All just for a toothache. If it had been caught earlier they could've tried to cut it out. 

"But if they tried now they said she would lose her eye, the top of her mouth."

The 63-year-old former NHS worker is furious it was missed, and her daughter has had to suffer months of pain and treatment.

She said: "She's been amazing, it's so wrong that it went back to January.

"She had a phone call with the doctor and they said you need to see a dentist.

"She couldn't get one because of Covid, it took quite a while – but she finally got in to see a dentist in June.

"He said she needed an x-ray and said she needed four teeth out.

"We've seen a copy of the x-ray, and we can see the tumour – how he didn't see that I don't know.

"Another doctor then took a biopsy from the teeth. So this is now from January to September, before anyone's done anything for her."

Nasal and sinus cancer is a rare cancer that affects the nasal cavity and the sinuses.

Gill, 63, takes Natalie to her gruelling treatment at Addenbrookes Hospital every three weeks – a long drive from her home near Downham Market, Norfolk.

Natalie and her partner, Connie, who got married at the end of last year, stay for the duration of the chemo after travelling from the Isle of Wight.

LAST WISH

The former bus driver has one wish as she battles the incurable cancer – to see her beloved West Ham United play.

She has loyally followed the club since she was five years old, but has never been to see them play in person.

Her family set up a Go Fund Me page to raise enough money so Natalie could see her team, but from the safety of an enclosed box, as her immune system is compromised.

Natalie's cousin, Anne, said: "Nat is now on chemo to give her more time. When chemo stops, it will all grow back aggressively.

"Nat was lucky enough to be able to marry the love of her life at the end of December, but she has one more wish – she wants to see West Ham United play.

"So here we are, seeing if we can raise the money ourselves. We want to make Natalie's wish come true."

Amazingly, in less than a week enough money has been raised to safely send Natalie to the football, with Anne excitedly telling donors "you have all helped to lift her up".

The most common symptoms of nasal and sinus cancer are:

• a blocked nose that does not go away and usually only affects 1 side
• nosebleeds
• a decreased sense of smell
• mucus running from your nose – this can be bloody
• mucus draining into the back of your nose and throat

At a later stage, symptoms can include:

• pain or numbness in the face, particularly in the upper cheek, that does not go away
• swollen glands in the neck
• partial loss of vision or double vision
• a bulging eye
• a watering eye that does not go away
• pain or pressure in one ear
• a persistent lump or growth on your face, nose or roof of your mouth

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