Without his nose and without a look, he said he is very happy

Photo Chantal Poirier
Consequence of a cancer: Sylvain Pharand lives without a nose and without eyes.

Carl Vaillancourt

Monday, February 19, 2018 01:00

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Monday, February 19, 2018 01:00

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A Montreal 54-year-old has never been happier, even if he has to deal with the next sometimes contemptuous of the people, he lives without a nose and without eyes. The doctor comes to him to announce that he has defeated a cancer of the sinus that he was fighting for the past nine years.

The term survivor applies well to Sylvain Pharand, who has received the best news of her life, so that her plastic surgeon, Daniel Borsuk, announced a few weeks ago that he was in remission.

“I shed tears. A specialist had said in 2008 to my wife that I would live no more than six months “, has launched Sylvain Pharand.

On the anniversary of his wife on June 20, 2008, Sylvain Pharand has learned that he had cancer of the sinuses and the lymph nodes.

It is his physical therapist of the time, who had noticed a mass in his nose. He was invited to consult with a doctor.

A week after having passed the examination, a specialist has taught him the bad news.

“I remember I burst into tears. I was collapsed when I learned that I had cancer, ” he told.

11 operations

For the past nine years, Sylvain Pharand has undergone 11 operations to remove malignant tumors in his face.

He also had no less than 165 radiation treatment and 15 treatments of brachytherapy between 2008 and 2017. The doctors have removed his left eye and his nose for the treatment.

“I was placed five sons that I would inject a liquid into the head to avoid that it spreads. The disease has never affected my brain, fortunately, ” he added, without which his days would have been counted.

Photo courtesy

His wife of 26 years, Marie-Josée Fréchette, has confessed that the resilience and the courage of Mr. Pharand were impressive.

“He never lowered the arms. He went to all his appointments with a smile. It niaisait even with the doctor, ” said Ms. Fréchette.

Although treatments have been challenging physically, what are the looks of the people on him that have been the most painful.

“The number of people that were sticking to my face. It was difficult psychologically. I’ve had no other choice than to refer to three psychologists throughout the treatment, ” he said.

Moral support

According to Marie-Josée Fréchette, it is the moral support of friends and family who helped Sylvain Pharand to pass through all these trials.

“Friends and former colleagues of Sylvain were protective. It helped to see so many people support it “, she added.

Last April, the fifty-year-old has undergone a skin graft to repair his face.

The skin is taken from her right thigh has been placed to hide the hole in his face. Specialists have also made a prosthesis with an eye and a nose, which he grabs with his dentures.

It is easier for him to go out in public now. He attended a football match of Canada at the Bell Centre with his son of 21 years this fall.