An Edinburgh woman has shared how the 'tiny white spot' she noticed under her tongue was actually an aggressive form of mouth cancer.
Danielle Whitmarsh, was forced to have 25 percent of her tongue removed after noticing a slight 'niggle' every time she swallowed something. Speaking about the ordeal, the 41-year-old said she had first noticed the scratching pain on her 40th birthday in June 2021, but was only diagnosed with the disease six months later.
Rushed in for emergency surgery to remove the cancer, surgeons had worked for 12 hours to cut out a section of her tongue, before reconstructing it with skin from her arm.
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Now left with a 'shark bite' shaped scar on her forearm, Danielle said: "I've never smoked and am still young, so it was the shock of my life to get the diagnosis.
"People rarely think to check inside their mouths and I want people to do so regularly, so they don't leave it too late. If you feel, even a slight change, please get it checked. It may save your life."
Two months after the scratching sensation had started, Danielle had attended the GP, who couldn't see anything unusual.
"He explained as I was young and didn't smoke, it was probably nothing to worry about", she explained, "but he said if it didn't improve in two months I should call back."
Going for a dental checkup a few months later, nothing again had been noticed, however by December, she had began to suffer from a hoarse voice and was feeling extremely run down.
She said: "Something clearly wasn't right so the doctor referred me to an ENT specialist. The following month, I had a camera put up my nose but they couldn't see anything of concern. Then they checked my mouth.
"The consultant told me he could see a slight white mark underneath my tongue right at the back."
That day, a biopsy of Danielle's tongue was taken. Two weeks later she attended an appointment at the maxillofacial unit of St John's Hospital, Livingston, where she discovered she had aggressive mouth and tongue cancer.
Danielle said: "I sat there in shock when the consultant delivered my results. I was told all the way through it would be nothing to worry about. I wasn't expecting a cancer diagnosis.
"Especially when I'd never smoked. I was told I'd need emergency surgery as soon as possible and was warned I may never talk or eat again. It was really scary."
Thankfully, further testing had confirmed that the cancer had not spread, meaning that Danielle was able to have the section of her tongue removed as well as her lymph nodes.
However, following the surgery, the 41-year-old was fitted with a peg feeding tube which she used for three months, before having to relearn how to eat and talk. Since then she has numbness in her arm where donor skin was removed and has to chew on one side of her mouth, due to her new tongue sometimes getting stuck.
Now having raised over £1,000 for the Mouth Cancer Foundation, Danielle is hoping to spread further awareness about the signs and symptoms of the disease.
She added: "There aren't enough campaigns around oral cancers. They're just as serious as others and people need to be checking their mouth and tongue area regularly.
"Go to the doctor if you've had a hoarse voice for more than a couple of weeks or a sore throat or trouble swallowing it's not always a visible flat white ulcer although it can also be a warning sign.
"I'm lucky I got mine checked in time."
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