Second Chance at Life: Miracle of Man Whose Dog Sniffed Out Aggressive Tumor Before He Would’ve 'Been Dead Within Weeks'

Sixty-five-year-old Mark Allen has his dog to thank for his life after the pup detected a tumor eating away at his face.

Knewz.com has learned that if it were not for the ensuing operation happening when it did – which resulted in the father of two having half his face cut away – he would have been dead within weeks.

Allen, from the United Kingdom , experienced symptoms for close to a year and ignored them. Over this period, an aggressive cancer was spreading across the right side of his face.

While this was happening Allen claims that he noticed his dog, Jessie, behaving strangely. She became increasingly affectionate pawing him and nudging him more than usual.

“At the time, we had three dogs, and Jessie was acting oddly, clinging around my legs and behaving in a closeness she had not previously done,” he told a charitable trust.

In retrospect, he attributes his now-late furry friend’s behavior to her sense of his decline in health .

“When I finally went to see the doctor and get the results of some tests, I think I’d already worked out it was going to be cancer because of Jessie’s behavior.”

Because the tumor had been ignored for so long, Allan had to endure a ten-hour procedure to remove the growth and reconstruct his face—and the recovery was no easier.

“I couldn’t breathe out of my right nostril for about a year or so because of a polyp,” he recalled.

“The ongoing radiotherapy was quite nasty.”

“I lost three and a half stone, the hair on the one side of my head and I also lost all taste so eating was about survival,” he said.

“Had I gone to the doctors earlier, I’m sure the treatment would not have been as severe as it turned out to be, but I’d allowed the cancer to get to stage 4.”

“They managed to get the tumor out cleanly but had to remove my eye socket, which is now titanium mesh.”

“My cheekbone is now made out of my pelvic bone.”

Notably, the procedure left Allan without an essential part of his identity.

“Our faces are like our most visible fingerprint.”

“They are a massive part of our identity and the thought of disfigurement to your face is daunting, but I had no choice but to go ahead with the operation,” Allan explained.

But even though Allan lost a significant percentage of his facial features, he still had something to be grateful for:

“I asked the consultant what would happen if I did not have surgery and he replied to say I would be dead within weeks.”

He used the opportunity to warn his fellow countrymen and women about the hazards of ignoring the early warning signs of cancer.

“My advice to others is not to ignore symptoms. If something is not right, go and seek some consultation.”

“You just never know when something might strike that is going to change your life significantly,” he said via Get Ahead .