Man has tongue removed after ignoring common warning sign of cancer
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
A 26-year-old man from the UK has had his tongue removed after he mistook cancer symptoms for an ulcer.
Dan Durant first clocked onto an ulcer on the right side of his tongue in 2023, but didn't initially think anything of it.
Things took a turn for the worse shortly after, though, as Dan accidentally sneezed and bit his tongue.
This caused the lump to become inflamed, so the man from Stafford went to seek advice from a medical professional.
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Doctors diagnosed Dan with squamous cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer that led to him needing surgery to remove the tumour.
Recalling events, Dan said: "I sneezed really hard and ended up biting my tongue.
"It went really inflamed.
"I was directed to Stoke Hospital and told it was cancer and it was aggressive."
Doctors removed 50 per cent of Dan's tongue to cut out the two tumours they found before reconstructing it using skin from his left forearm.
Medical experts also dissected his neck to remove cancerous lymph nodes, with Dan currently awaiting biopsy results that will determine whether he needs more treatment.
Dan added: "I didn't quite believe it could be cancer.
"Being told it was upsetting. I did have a cry. It was so surreal."
Speaking of the operation itself, he revealed: "They took skin from my forearm for my tongue and then the skin from my stomach to replace skin on my arm.
"They also used my the arteries from my forearm and put them into my tongue so there was a blood flow."
Dan spent eight days in hospital following the operation to ensure there were no complications and so he could get acclimatised with eating and drinking once more.
Currently, he is on a soft food diet.
"Learning to swallow properly was quite difficult," Dan said.
"I'm just getting used to chewing.
"My jaw aches a lot. It's a lot of relearning things.
"If there is little to no cancer cells left I will just be one round of radiotherapy."
Dan has been unable to start a new job as a result of his diagnosis and is not currently working.
A GoFundMe page has also been set up to help fund Dan's living costs over the coming months, while any remaining money will be donated to cancer research.
Dan concluded: "Everything is normal and then all of a sudden it is not.
"It's a life-changing thing."