A former teacher spoke out about the strange sign that he was suffering from tongue cancer, a disease that is about 25 percent more prevalent than a decade ago.
Stuart Kingston, 67, from Merseyside, didn’t realize his face “looked uneven” until it was discovered by his wife, Carol.
Ms Kingston said: ‘During the pandemic, they naturally kept their distance from each other.
“So it wasn’t until later in the year, when we went on a caravan trip and we were very close to each other, we sat face to face, and I saw how mismatched Stuart’s face looked.”
Kingston said he had also been having trouble swallowing, which was affecting his appetite, but he “didn’t think anything of it.”
But in October 2020, after noticing the “asymmetry” in his face, Kingston encouraged her husband to visit the GP.
The doctor arranged an urgent PET scan at the local hospital, concerned about a possible growth in his oral cavity.
The images showed that a cancerous growth had formed at the base of his tongue.
Stuart Kingston, 67, from Liverpool, had difficulty swallowing but thought nothing of it. Only when his wife noticed the asymmetry in his face did he go to a family doctor for help.
Oral cancers, which include diseases affecting the tongue, lips, jaw and gums, are increasing in the UK.
An analysis published in November revealed that cases of fatal mouth cancer among Britons have reached a record 10,000 a year.
The findings, compiled by charity The Oral Health Foundation, showed that 10,825 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year, representing a 133 per cent increase over the last 20 years.
Experts say the increase is mainly due to diagnoses of younger people between 40 and 50 years old.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the biggest risk factors for oral cancer, according to the Oral Health Foundation, and is believed to be responsible for the majority of new head and neck cancers.
And experts suggest that oral sex could be partly to blame for the rise in types of diseases caused by viruses that affect the throat and mouth.
Dr. Hisham Mehanna, from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, said people with multiple oral sex partners have up to a nine-fold increased risk of oropharyngeal cancers, which affect the back of the tongue, tonsils and the throat
Kingston has warned others to keep an eye out for symptoms that seem unusual, such as difficulty swallowing and a drooping face.
Shortly after his diagnosis, Mr Kingston began five weeks of daily radiotherapy and then chemotherapy at The Clatterbridge Cancer Center in Wirral, Merseyside.
He also participated in a clinical trial so he could “help someone going through the same thing in the future.”
Speaking about his thoughts the night before going to hospital, he said: ‘The night before my treatment started, Carol and I went to see Blackpool Illuminations.
“We promised each other we would come back when my treatment was finished.”
After treatment, Mr. Kingston needed to relearn how to swallow and use his tongue differently.
“When you get treatment every day, you know what to expect, you’re in a routine,” he said.
‘There are people around you who can help you and if you have any concerns, there is always someone there to solve it.
‘But when I got home and the worries continued, I really started to struggle.
‘For this I am eternally grateful to the Clatterbridge speech and language therapy team. “I couldn’t have made the progress I made without them.”
In March 2022, Kingston was given the all-clear: doctors could find no more signs of cancer in his body.
This data shows that in the UK throat cancer cases have been on an upward trend, as in the US (source: Cancer Research UK)
Non-healing mouth ulcers, a hoarse voice, and unexplained lumps in the mouth are warning signs of the disease.
‘Don’t think you’re invincible like me. Talk to a professional if you experience any symptoms and put yourself in the hands of the experts.
‘No matter how independent or tough you think you are, you can’t cure this alone.
‘Accept help from highly trained and qualified people.
“Have confidence and faith in your abilities and face everything with a positive attitude, day by day.”
Dr Heulwen Sheldrick, a speech and language therapist at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, helped him learn to swallow again.
She said: ‘Stuart had a feeding tube fitted at the start of his treatment and our main aim was to adjust what and how to eat and drink to safely remove the tube.
“It can be quite scary to do this, to relearn how to swallow and use your tongue in a different way.
“Between the team’s support, Carol’s encouragement, and Stuart’s hard work through speech and language therapy, he is now communicating as clearly and effectively as possible.”
Signs of oral cancer, including types that affect the tongue, can be varied, from difficulty swallowing to a red or white spot inside the mouth.
According to the NHS, lumps and soreness in the mouth, as well as ulcers that have lasted more than three weeks, can also be telltale signs.