27-year-old Jennie Yoo began to feel pain in her front two teeth at the end of 2015. She thought it was just a common toothache and waited for the pain to pass. When it didn’t, she assumed that she would need to see her dentist to get it filled – and continued to put it off.
When the pain came to be too much, however, Yoo finally went to her dentist – who told her he was unable to diagnose the problem.
Yoo was then referred to a specialist in Seoul, South Korea. Yoo and her dentist are both in Thailand.
But per her dentist’s recommendation, Yoo took the trip to South Korea, where X-rays revealed that she had cancer in the bones surrounding her jaw, on the left side of her face. “It was a very big shock when they said there was cancer in the bones around my jaw. I didn't know what to do,” she admitted.
The doctors in South Korea immediately put Yoo on chemotherapy treatment, but the tumor only continued to expand until it became an unsightly grapefruit-sized-lump on Yoo’s face.
“I’ve had six sessions of chemotherapy so far but they were all sporadic, because of how expensive they are,” she explained. This is why the tumor has continued to grow so consistently.
Thankfully, Yoo’s treatment is now being covered by a special medical grant in Thailand, allowing her and her family – rubber farm workers – to rest more easily, knowing that she will receive treatment regardless of how much they can afford.
Yoo’s doctors are hoping that after another five rounds of chemotherapy, the tumor will actually begin to reduce in size and allow her nose to return to the center of her face.
But until this happens, Yoo has chosen to wear a mask and a hat whenever she leaves the house to avoid stares. “I want to get back to living my life, and have a job like everyone else. I want to feel normal again,” she said. “I'll do any job, I want to support myself and be strong.”
