'Mouth cancer has changed who I am'

Guy Walker said he would highly recommend anyone managing cancer to see a psychologist, something he found helpful

A man who was diagnosed with cancer after feeling a "sharpness" in mouth is urging others not to ignore warning signs.

Doctors discovered Guy Walker, 54, from Blagdon, Somerset, had a tumour the size of a thumb growing into his sinuses after he felt a "pin prick of a spot" in his mouth.

Within 40 hours of the diagnosis, he was rushed in for surgery to remove part of his mouth, jaw and nose.

He said: "I went from someone who was reasonably fit, just a normal person, totally unexceptional, to having 10.5 hours of surgery to save my life."

"It's definitely changed who I am but I'm determined to turn that to my advantage and use that time to review and refresh. It's just part of what's happened to me," he added.

To thank medical experts, Mr Walker ran the Bristol's 2024 half marathon with a team of 20 friends and family. They raised £12,500 for the Bristol and Weston Hospital Charity.

Mr Walker and a team of 20 friends and family raised £12,500 for the hospital's charity

Mr Walker said he was at work when he first noticed a sharpness in his mouth in the summer of 2022.

"I thought it was a bit odd and it evolved over two or three weeks.

"After a month I'd perhaps convinced myself it was going away, but in my heart of hearts, I knew it wasn't," he said.

At his annual dental appointment in December that year, he asked his dentist to check the roof of his mouth.

She quickly referred him to Bristol Dental Hospital, where a CT scan revealed the tumour.

He received his diagnosis on 28 March 2023, and less than two days later he underwent a 10-hour operation at Bristol Royal Infirmary.

"I walked into that operating theatre with a bank of six people in scrubs, asking me my name, and I laid down, did a countdown under aesthetic and then woke up well into the next day, very re-arranged but literally my life had been saved," he said.

Mr Walker had to wear a surgical mask while he recovered from surgery

After the operation, he had 100 appointments, including 30 sessions of "belt and braces" radiotherapy.

In November 2023, he was told all of the cancer had been removed. But, he said it was not until March 2024, on the first anniversary of his diagnosis, that he was able to digest his journey.

"You are thinking about what happened a year ago that day and realising how much has happened.

"A friend of mine said to me 'there's a before and after of cancer' - and that's true," he added.

Mouth cancer symptoms

According to the NHS, symptoms of mouth cancer can affect any parts of your mouth including the gums, tongue, inside the cheeks, or lips.

Symptoms include:

• a mouth ulcer in your mouth that lasts more than three weeks

• a red or white patch inside your mouth

• a lump inside your mouth or on your lip

• pain inside your mouth

• difficulty swallowing

• difficulty speaking or a hoarse (croaky) voice

• a lump in your neck or throat

• losing weight without trying