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'I didn't think I'd be graduating' after Freshers' Week cancer op

Haider SaleemNorth West
Ella Tyman Ella is standing in her graduation gowns next to Salford Quays. She is holding flowers in one hand and waving her other in the air. She has a joyful smile. Ella Tyman
Ella says she "couldn't be more proud" after graduating, having once doubted she would complete her degree

Ella Tyman had just moved into university accommodation in the autumn of 2023, and was about to enjoy Freshers' Week, when she was told she was needed urgent surgery for cancer.

The 21-year-old, of Skelmersdale, Lancashire, had been diagnosed with parotid gland cancer after doctors found a lump behind her ear during an appointment for an eye infection.

Ella said she had believed the cancer could be quickly removed before returning to life at the University of Salford. But a planned 45-minute procedure became a six-hour operation after the cancer had doubled in size and wrapped around facial nerves.

"I didn't think I'd be graduating now," she said, having achieved a first-class honours degree.

"They had to cut the nerves in my face," she said.

"I didn't even want to walk out of my house, let alone go to university."

Ella, who was 18 at the time, said she considered dropping out as she recovered from facial paralysis, bruising and the effects of proton therapy at The Christie in Manchester.

But she returned to classes within about two weeks, with support from her family, friends, the Teenage Cancer Trust and Young Lives vs Cancer.

She said studying television and radio helped her feel determined to continue.

"When I started doing my first projects, I started thinking, 'this is what I want to do'," she said.

"I don't want to miss out just because of what cancer's done."

Ella was declared cancer-free the day before New Year's Eve in 2023, but said she was still having treatment for the lasting effects of the surgery, including Botox appointments and further surgery before graduation.

Ella Tyman Ella holds a director slate, posing for the camera. Behind her is a climbing frame. She is inside. Ella Tyman
Ella directed her own films while studying abroad in Chicago and later gained industry experience with Manchester City Women

She later spent a year studying film and television at Columbia College Chicago, which she described as "the best thing I could have done".

"I found myself again there and I started to become more confident," she said.

Ella has now graduated with a first-class honours degree in television and radio and hopes to work behind the camera in TV.

"I'm just so proud of myself," she said.

"It is possible and you can push through."

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