Looking at it now, it would be hard to imagine what Harvey Deaton has been through. He is fit and healthy and likes to spend his time between the UK and his holiday home in Spain.
You’re lucky to be doing any of this. For months, Harvey was told that repeated attacks of pain in his left ear were due to an infection. In fact, it was a sign of advanced tongue cancer.
Harvey had been back and forth to his GP seeking help with his ear pain. But despite trying antibiotics and ear syringes, six months later he was still suffering.
It was during a routine dental appointment that her dentist noticed a “red spot” in her mouth that wouldn’t heal, she recalls.
The dentist recommended Harvey see a head and neck specialist. And within a few minutes they diagnosed the true cause of the ear pain and the sore in the mouth: tongue cancer, classified as a type of head and neck cancer.
Harvey, 59, a former BT manager who lives in Kippax, Leeds, says: ‘I was told ear pain was a classic sign of head and neck cancer, but I had no idea it could be.’
“It was caught just in time. I’m lucky to be here.”
When he was diagnosed, Harvey, who is married to Helena, 56, had stage 4 cancer that had spread under his tongue to one of his lymph nodes.
Harvey Deaton, 59, is lucky to be alive after the discovery of his tongue cancer
According to Cancer Research UK, around 12,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year.
But cases have been increasing (one report claims up to 47 percent each year) and the “huge increase” is expected to continue, says Dr. Oladejo Olaleye, an ear, nose and throat surgeon at the Research Center. Leicester Cancer and ambassador for the charity Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK.
Head and neck cancers are those that affect the throat, voice box, nose, sinuses, tongue, tonsils, gums, lips, jaw, cheekbones, cheeks, neck lumps, salivary glands and thyroid area.
Although most cases occur among people in their 60s and 60s, numbers are increasing “alarmingly” among younger men and women as well, says Dr. Olaleye.
The recent rise in head and neck cancers has been attributed to infection with high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus previously linked to cancers of the tonsils and base of the tongue. (Other strains of HPV have also been linked to cervical cancer.)
These cases are now more common in younger men, who may present with only a lump in the neck or a persistent sore throat.
However, although some strains of HPV are transmitted sexually, those linked to head and neck cancer do not require sexual activity: They can be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, meaning anyone can be at risk, explains the Dr. Olaleye.
“Although the HPV vaccine was introduced (for adolescent girls in 2008, but also for children in 2019) and is expected to reduce cases of head and neck cancer, the full impact will not be seen for several decades, since these cancers generally develop later in life,” he adds.
However, there are other risk factors for head and neck cancer, such as smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
Symptoms of head and neck cancer may include a persistent sore throat (or other type of pain in the throat or mouth), a lump or swelling in the neck, a lump or ulcer on the lip or in the mouth that does not heal , voice changes or hoarseness, pain when swallowing or difficulty swallowing, and ear pain or ear pain.
“Ear pain can be a sign of certain head and neck cancers, particularly those affecting the throat or base of the tongue, because they share nerve pathways,” says Dr. Olaleye.
“Most of the time ear pain is caused by other conditions, such as infections or jaw joint disorders, but if there is unexplained ear pain for three weeks or more, it should be investigated further.”
He highlights that it is also vital for anyone who has symptoms that include unusual lumps on the tongue; whitish or red spots on the tongue/cheek; ulcers that do not heal; and sore throats that last more than three weeks, see your GP or dentist.
Survival rates for head and neck cancers are generally lower than those for other cancers, such as breast cancer, Dr. Olaleye says, in part because the anatomy of the head can make surgical removal of those cancers be a challenge.
Therefore, while 70 to 90 percent of patients with lip cancers, which are easily visible and accessible, will live five years or more, only 40 percent of patients with more inaccessible cancers, which are They develop in the lower part of the throat, behind the larynx, for example, living five years or more. By comparison, the overall survival rate for breast cancer is around 90 percent.
Harvey’s ear pain began in August 2022 and when his pain did not improve in October despite painkillers, antibiotics and ear washings, he returned to his GP.
This time he was given a nasal balloon device to try; The idea is that breathing through your nose to fill the balloon with air helps equalize the pressure in your ears. This didn’t work either.
In November 2022, Harvey burned his mouth with hot soup, but the wound did not heal.
Now he was seriously alarmed. In January 2023 he insisted that his GP refer him to an ENT doctor.
He underwent hearing tests, as well as investigations in which a camera was inserted into the end of a long, thin tube to detect abnormalities in his throat and Eustachian tubes (which connect the middle ear and the back of the brain). throat). But all this became clear.
In April he had a dental checkup while in Spain and mentioned a burn in his mouth that had not healed.
The Spanish dentist examined him carefully, seemed concerned and said he had an infection at the base of his tongue. She asked Harvey to see her again three weeks later so she could examine the red spot again, and this time he found that it was more swollen.
Harvey also mentioned his ear pain and the dentist advised him to quickly make an appointment with a private maxillofacial specialist, whom he saw on his return to the UK.
After examining Harvey’s tongue and listening to his symptoms, the consultant simply said: ‘I know what this is. It’s cancer. “I’ll put you back on the NHS because curing this is going to be expensive,” Harvey recalls.
He was “shocked” that an expert could diagnose his symptoms “in seconds”, after being “deceived for months”.
Symptoms of head and neck cancers may include a persistent sore throat, a lump or swelling in the neck, and a lump or ulcer on the lip or mouth that does not heal.
The cancer was located under his tongue. However, a phenomenon known as “referred pain” meant that pain could also be felt in the ear. This is thought to be because the mouth and ear share common nerve pathways, so pain signals from one area can be felt in another.
The diagnosis was confirmed by examination and biopsy. This also revealed that her cancer was caused by a strain of HPV.
Harvey underwent 35 sessions of radiation to the head and neck and three doses of chemotherapy, over seven grueling weeks.
He had five teeth extracted to reduce the risk of dental complications in the future and a tube was placed in his stomach to feed him.
“I couldn’t have surgery because the tumor was 4 cm wide and was in a difficult place to operate under the base of the tongue,” says Harvey.
‘The treatment I received was brutal since its effect is cumulative and the pain in my mouth and throat was very intense. I was given liquid morphine, which caused constipation, and I was fed through a tube throughout the treatment and for the next four weeks.
“It was very difficult for me and Helena to see me go through this.”
Harvey went from 13.6 pounds to 12 (he’s 5-foot-10) during three months of treatment.
Dr. Olaleye says that while better diagnosis rates are urgently needed, “it’s not just about survival.”
“It’s also about quality of life: many patients who survive head and neck cancer have very difficult lives after treatment if they are diagnosed late and the cancer has spread due to breathing problems and often complex reconstruction “.
For some, extensive surgery may involve removal of the tongue and/or voice box, he says.
A year after finishing his treatment, Harvey is cancer-free, but his specialist is still monitoring him. He volunteers for the charity Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK as he wants to “give something back”.
He tells his story to raise awareness among other people about the signs to watch out for.
‘I now know that ear pain is a classic sign of head and neck cancer. However, my GP and ENT doctor I saw never mentioned this. That meant my cancer could grow to stage 4,” says Harvey.
However, he remains grateful that his cancer was detected.
‘I’m very lucky to be here. I’m sharing my story so other people know the signs to look out for.’