‘Shocked beyond belief’: tongue cancer survivor on her diagnosis

A tongue cancer survivor has spoken out about her unbearably agonising treatment, how she got her control back and her determination to raise awareness of the disease.

Karen Liesching-Schroder, 47, was ‘shocked beyond belief’ when she received her tongue cancer diagnosis.

She had previously been told that the mouth ulcer on her tongue was ‘seemingly harmless’.

Cancer was the last thing on her mind before she recieved her diagnosis. ‘I had no idea. I’m a healthy person, I run, don’t smoke, don’t drink much and I eat healthy food.’

This comes after recent statistics which show that mouth cancer is on the rise. 

A report by the Oral Health Foundation analyses the causes, risks, trends and awareness of mouth cancer across the UK.

The report shows that new cases have increased by 1% in the UK. In addition, cases have risen by 34% over the last 10 years and by 103% over the last 20 years.

The data also shows that deaths from mouth cancer have increased by 75% compared with ten years ago.

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Getting control back

The treatment Karen received involved radiotherapy, a neck dissection and surgery to have the side of her tongue removed. She described this treatment as ‘unbearable agony’.

Despite this, Karen was still determined to carry on running during her treatment. ‘I just needed to run,’ she said. ‘Control was being taken away from me by cancer and this was one way of getting control back.

‘When it came to the end of radiotherapy, I had the goal that I wanted to run the Southend half-marathon. I was told by clinicians that I wouldn’t be allowed to do it. But nobody could stop me.

‘It’s what’s keeping me going and I have to do this. Running was my way of being free from it all.

Despite being told that the side effects of her radiotherapy treatment would be worse after it finished, Karen still completed the half-marathon.

‘My running club were all there at the end with high-fives, a massive line of them. It was brilliant. I had unbelievable support all the way through from so many people. I was very lucky.’

Seeing life differently

Following her treatment, Karen has still experienced complications. These include ‘aggressive’ oral thrush, learning to speak properly again and concerns the cancer will return.

‘There’s a lot of things out there to enjoy and now I feel I have a second chance at doing just that.

‘A lot of people think that mouth cancer only happens to smokers, but my story shows that isn’t always the case.

‘If you have worried about an unusual change in your mouth then get it checked out. Don’t be frightened but it’s important that you don’t suffer in silence and to remember that the sooner it’s checked out, the sooner it can be sorted.

‘Chances are it’ll be fine but in the rare case it is not, it could be a life saver.’

Following her experience, Karen is determined to help raise awareness of the disease.

Encourage self-examination

Philip Lewis, Mouth Cancer Foundation president, has discussed the importance of early detection of mouth cancer.

‘As we all know, the pandemic caused enormous waiting lists to develop. These persist, denying patients the opportunity for regular early detection examinations.

‘That’s why self-examination is so important. People are already used to examining themselves for early signs of other cancers.

‘So a monthly, two-minute check shouldn’t be a problem to incorporate in our home health care protocols and could well save a life or at least reduce the amount of aggressive treatments that might be necessary if the cancer is diagnosed late.

In a message to dental professionals, Philip said: ‘Early detection is so important. Please keep your knowledge up to date, encourage self-examination and make sure the whole dental team is involved.’

For more information about mouth cancer, including how to spot the disease early, how to reduce your risk and what to do if you notice any of the early warning signs, visit www.mouthcancer.org.


Read our other articles for Mouth Cancer Action Month:

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