Following that appointment, within a couple of weeks, he was told that he had mouth cancer and that he would need surgery to remove a tumour from his tongue. But the good news was that early diagnosis had caught the cancer early, at stages 1 to 2. Chris had been right to be concerned and act on it.
“I was half expecting the cancer diagnosis, although it was still a bit of a shock,” he says. “Yes, I was really fed-up, but then I just knew that I wanted to get on with treatment and the sooner the better. I had no choice but to accept it and tackle it.
“Also I was so very lucky that my consultant gave me so much confidence. I had total faith in her and trusted everything she told me – and it all worked out just as she said it would!”
Surgery and recovery
“I was in hospital for 10 days – some of it in ICU. They removed the tumour from my tongue and then grafted skin from my arm onto my tongue, to rebuild its shape – just incredible. I needed a tracheostomy tube inserted into my throat for a few days so that I could breathe. They also removed some of my teeth and some of the lymph nodes from my neck.
“But I didn’t need any radiotherapy or chemotherapy, as my consultant was confident that the surgery had removed all the cancerous cells.”
In the days and months after surgery Chris received care from various members of his MDT – the multi-disciplinary team responsible for his treatment, therapies, and general wellbeing. A speech and language therapist helped him adapt to the changes in how he talked after his tongue had changed shape. And a nutritionist ensured his diet was suitable for his post-surgery needs, with plenty of porridge and other soft nutritious foods and drinks.
More than five years after diagnosis Chris continues to work in mortgages, and he reflects on what he knows now:
“My smoking and drinking alcohol took its toll. Even though I’d given up smoking four years before diagnosis, the damage was already done. So anyone who can quit, should quit smoking – the hassle of eventually having to have part of your tongue removed is just not worth it.”
In fact, drinking and smoking together can make mouth cancer up to 30 times more likely to develop[1].
[1] Mouth Cancer Foundation
