RELATED; A 65-year-old Man's Painful Rash Turns Out to Be Leukemia; The Importance of Advocating for Your Health

“What I can tell you was my utter disbelief when some months later I was sat in the hospital being shown the scan results which showed a huge [tumor] which was growing inside my face,” he said. “I came to find the answers as to why my innocent watery eye was not stopping, instead I left a dead man walking.”

It turned out that his irritated and watery eye was the result of his tumor pushing up against it. For treatment, he had to have his eye and extra tissue from around the area removed followed by radiotherapy. When all was said and done, he was left with extreme facial damage.

RELATED: Brave Australian Man, 27, Has Half of His Tongue Removed During Cancer Fight, Learns The Disease Has Spread to His Heart; Understanding Head and Neck Cancers

“Radiotherapy had a devastating effect on the soft tender skin on my face, and slowly the stitched-up areas opened back up and I was left with a huge hole in my face,” he said. “My face had been hollowed out to the extreme that I could look in a mirror and see my tongue moving.”

After drastic reconstruction, Jackson is now happy with the way he looks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Daniel Jackson (@dan_defiantly_disfigured)

“I have made peace with the fact I can never look the way I once did, but I won't let it stop me living my second chance of life," he said.

And making the most of his life now includes sharing his story to raise awareness for people with facial differences. He’s even partnered with Changing Faces for its I Am Not Your Villain campaign which “calls on those in the film industry script writers, casting directors, film producers, production companies and directors to stop using scars, burns or marks as a shorthand for villainy.”

“An amazing future awaits our next generation if we learn to be kind, non-judgemental, and accepting of differences,” Jackson said.

Understanding Ethmoid Sinus Cancer

Daniel Jackson’s official diagnosis was squamous cell carcinoma in the ethmoid sinus. Ethmoid sinus cancer is a type of paranasal sinus cancer a cancer in the head and neck category that begins in the air-filled spaces in the skull around the nose. The ethmoid sinuses, more specifically, are just behind either side of the upper nose. According to the American Cancer Society, squamous cell carcinomas a type of cancer in which squamous epithelial cells, or the flat cells that line the sinuses and make up most of the mucosa (mucus-producing tissue) are the most common type of cancer in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. Still, cancers of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses are rare and make up about 3 to 5 percent of all head and neck cancers in the United States.

As far as risk factors for nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancers are concerned, workplace exposures from certain jobs fall at the top of the list. According to the American Cancer Society, breathing in certain substances while at work such as the following increases your risk:

• Wood dusts from carpentry (such as furniture and cabinet builders), sawmills, and other wood-related industries
• Dusts from textiles (textile plants)
• Leather dusts (shoemaking)
• Flour (baking and flour milling)
• Nickel and chromium dust
• Mustard gas (a poison used in chemical warfare)
• Radium (a radioactive element rarely used today)

Advocating for Your Health

Whether you are currently battling cancer or worried that you might have it, it's always important to advocate for your health. Cancer is an incredibly serious disease, and you have every right to insist that your doctors investigate any possible signs of cancer. Or, like in the above case, if you simply have no idea what's causing issues with your body, you should still seek professional help.

“They say you should always see your GP [general practitioner] if you feel there is something not quite right, and I was a young strong male who frankly didn't have the patience to see my GP about my irritated eye,” Daniel Jackson said. “A simple everyday body defect which normally clears up on its own continued for some time, until I did, only on reflection do I feel there may have been a chance to avoid the consequences, but I will never know.”

Needless to say, you never know when speaking up about a seemingly unimportant issue can lead to a very important diagnosis cancer or otherwise. And when you do seek out a doctor, it’s important to make sure they’re actively addressing your concerns.

Be Pushy, Be Your Own Advocate… Don't Settle

"Every appointment you leave as a patient, there should be a plan for what the doc is going to do for you, and if that doesn't work, what the next plan is," Dr. Zuri Murell, director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "And I think that that's totally fair. And me as a health professional that's what I do for all of my patients."

In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, April Knowles explained how she became a breast cancer advocate after her doctor dismissed the lump in her breast as a side effect of her menstrual period. Unfortunately, that dismissal was a mistake. Knowles was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at age 39. She said the experience taught her the importance of listening to her body and speaking up when something doesn't feel right.

I Wanted My Doctor To Like Me, Then He Missed My Breast Cancer

"I wanted my doctor to like me," she said. "I think women, especially young women, are really used to being dismissed by their doctors."

Figuring out whether or not you actually have cancer based on possible symptoms is critical because early detection may help with treatment and outcomes. Seeking multiple opinions is one way to ensure you're getting the care and attention you need.

One thing to remember is that not all doctors are in agreement. Recommendations for further testing or treatment options can vary, and sometimes it's essential to talk with multiple medical professionals.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.