Biting my tongue saved my life after my 'ulcer' turned out to be cancer
Warning: graphic images.
A man has shared how he believes accidentally biting down on his tongue could have saved his life after it led to doctors spotting that the persistent ulcer he'd developed was actually a cancerous tumour.
Dan Durant, 26, from Stafford, Staffordshire, first noticed he had an ulcer on the right side of his tongue during the summer last year, but didn't think anything of it at the time. It was only months later, when he sneezed, which caused him to accidentally bite his tongue, Dan noticed the lump had became inflamed.
Concerned, he decided to get it checked out by a doctor, and was shocked to discover he actually had squamous cell carcinoma - a type of tongue cancer. He was also told it his cancer was aggressive and he'd need to immediately undergo surgery to remove the tumour.
Dan often suffered with ulcers so didn't think anything of the lump on his tongue when he first spotted it in August 2023. He treated it with Bonjela and after a while stopped noticing it. "It was a grey, whitish patch," he explains. "It was around the size of a 1p coin. But I didn't really think much of it and mostly didn't really notice it was there."
Looking back, Dan says he'd also lost some weight and would often experience a sore throat, but didn't realise it was anything to be worried about. However, when he started to notice the ulcer again in April and it became inflamed in August when he accidentally bit down on it, he went to get it checked out.
Dan's GP was suspicious the lump could be cancerous and redirected him to Royal Stoke University Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent. A week later, Dan's tongue cancer diagnosis was confirmed. "I didn't quite believe it could be cancer," he says. "Being told it was upsetting. I did have a cry. It just felt so surreal."
On September 12, Dan had a Hemi Glossectomy and Tongue reconstruction, which consisted of an 11-hour operation to remove the tumour. Initially doctors had planned to do a partial removal of his tongue but had to remove 50% when they found a second tumour. They reconstructed his using skin from his left forearm.
"They took skin from my forearm for my tongue and then the skin from my stomach to replace skin on my arm," he explains. "They also used my the arteries from my forearm and put them into my tongue so there was a blood flow."
Dan spent the next eight days in hospital to ensure there were no problems following the reconstruction and so he could get used to eating and drinking again. During the procedure they also took a lymph node from his neck to do a biopsy to confirm the cancer had not spread. He is now waiting for the results from the biopsy, which will confirm if he needs to have any follow-up treatment. "If there is little to no cancer cells left I will just be one round of radiotherapy," Dan explains.
Dan's now on a soft food diet, while he recovers from the surgery. "Learning to swallow properly was quite difficult," he explains. "I'm just getting used to chewing. My jaw aches a lot and I've had to do a lot of relearning certain things."
While he continues to come to terms with his cancer experience Dan is keen to raise awareness about the signs and symptoms of tongue cancer. He was about to start a new job when he got his diagnosis and is currently unable to work while he recovers. He has set up a fundraiser to help fund his living costs for the next few months and plans to donate any remaining money to Cancer Research UK.
"Everything is normal and then all of a sudden it is not," he adds. "It's a life-changing thing. The nurse told me how lucky I was that I bit my tongue."
Tongue cancer: the facts
According to Cancer Research UK tongue cancer is a type of head and neck cancer. Symptoms of tongue cancer can include a patch, spot or lump on your tongue that doesn’t go away.
The most common type of tongue cancer is squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Squamous cells are the flat, skin like cells that cover the lining of the mouth, nose, larynx, thyroid and throat. Squamous cell carcinoma is the name for a cancer that starts in these cells and is more typically associated with skin cancer.
"While squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is more commonly associated with the skin, it’s important to understand that this type of cancer can occur wherever squamous cells are present," explains Dr Joseph Ambani. "These cells are flat and form the lining of not just the skin but also the mouth, throat, oesophagus, and other parts of the body. This explains why SCC can affect the tongue, which is lined by squamous cells, particularly in the mucosal surfaces."
The main risk factors are smoking, drinking a lot of alcohol and infection with the HPV virus.
Dr Ambani says the link between skin SCC and tongue SCC lies in the shared origin of the squamous cells, but the risk factors and behaviour can differ significantly.
"For instance, tongue SCC is heavily linked to lifestyle factors such as smoking, heavy alcohol use, and HPV infection, making it distinct in its development compared to SCC of the skin," he explains.
Not all cancers that involve the same cell type behave the same way.
"Tongue SCC can be particularly aggressive, and early intervention is crucial for improving prognosis, which is why any persistent oral lesion must be evaluated promptly," Dr Ambani adds.
The treatment for tongue cancer depends on the stage of your cancer, where the cancer is on your tongue and your general health, but can include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, either combined or on their own.
Read more about cancer:
Little girl’s ‘purple spots’ turned out to be sign of cancer (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
My doctor told me I had dandruff but the lumps were cancer (Yahoo Life UK, 10-min read)
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