A mother-of-one has revealed how she had to have her tongue rebuilt with flesh from her arm after an ulcer on her tongue became black and turned out to be cancer.
Liz Marsh, 28, from Shrewsbury in Shropshire, says doctors dismissed her month-long ulcer as stress-induced because her infant son had to have heart surgery.
But a worried dentist sent her for scans which revealed she had mouth cancer. Surgeons sliced off a piece of her tongue and removed lymph nodes from her neck.
Muscle and skin from Mrs Marsh’s arm was then grafted onto her tongue, leaving it ‘bulky’, but she is now in remission after the life-saving operation in 2016.
Mrs Marsh is sharing her story because, she says, doctors were ‘shocked’ someone her age had developed the disease.
She warns people to get checked if they are concerned about a mouth ulcer before it gets as serious as the one which ‘ravaged’ her tongue.
Liz Marsh, 28, had a mouth ulcer for over a month and, after a doctor had dismissed it as being harmless and caused by stress, it turned black and was diagnosed as mouth cancer
Mrs Marsh, mother of two-year-old Charlie, is finally smiling again after having part of her tongue removed and rebuilt in the bid to save her life.
When she first noticed the ulcer she thought nothing of it but, as it started to last longer and get bigger and more painful, she went to see a doctor.
Though Mrs Marsh says doctors dismissed the ulcer as harmless, suggesting it was caused by stress and telling her to come back another time.
But, four weeks later, Mrs Marsh’s ulcer had tripled in size and turned black – after being referred for further tests by her dentist she was soon diagnosed with mouth cancer.
Mrs Marsh needed urgent surgery to remove the ulcer, which had by now ravaged her tongue and was causing her agonising pain.
Ulcers which do not go away for weeks can be a sign of mouth cancer – also known as oral cancer – which affects around 6,800 people a year in the UK and around 50,000 people annually in the US.
Mouth ulcer kept growing and turned black
She said: ‘When I first spotted the ulcer in my mouth I thought nothing of it but when it started to become painful and grew, I raised my concerns to my dentist.
‘They told me to come back in four weeks and, after visiting my doctor, it was dismissed as being a harmless ulcer.
‘My son Charlie, now two, had undergone heart surgery at the time and we all thought it was stress related.
‘But my dentist referred me for tests and a few weeks later and I had a biopsy.
‘I was told just over a week later that I had mouth cancer, by which point the ulcer had turned black.
Mrs Marsh’s ulcer kept growing for weeks, worrying her dentist who sent her for scans which revealed the seriousness of her condition
Mrs Marsh says doctors dismissed her ulcer as being caused by stress as her son Charlie, two – pictured middle, next to father James – had to have heart surgery
‘Thankfully my consultant at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford was amazing and he reassured me that I could be fixed.
Skin, muscle and veins taken from arm in 14-hour op
After having skin, muscle, arteries and veins taken from her arm, surgeons removed a third of Mrs Marsh’s tongue and rebuilt it within the same 14 hour surgery.
Despite having to relearn to talk, eat and smile, she is happy she has beaten the aggressive form of cancer.
‘I was shocked when surgeons explained that skin, muscle, veins and nerves from my arm would rebuild my tongue,’ Mrs Marsh said.
When surgeons removed the cancer from Mrs Marsh’s tongue they sliced muscle, skin, arteries and veins from her arm to graft into her mouth during a 14-hour operation
‘For months after my surgery I struggled to smile as my mouth felt numb but now I’m embracing my imperfections.’
Lymph nodes in the neck also removed in surgery
Mrs Marsh had the ulcer on her tongue alongside 58 lymph nodes in her neck removed – known as a neck dissection – to ensure the cancer hadn’t spread.
She added: ‘I knew I would have a few scars after the surgery but I was determined to get through it.
‘I had a lot of muscle and veins removed from my arm so they could help rebuild my tongue.
‘It was a complex surgery but I was out of hospital 11 days later.
Mrs Marsh now has a repaired tongue, a third of which is built from flesh from her arm, and she had to relearn how to talk, eat and smile but says she is now getting back to normal
Mrs Marsh had to be fed through a tube for the 11 days she spent in hospital in Telford, because a third of her tongue had been removed by surgeons – she then relearned how to eat when she went home
‘I had been fed through a tube for the entire time I was in hospital and I had to try and relearn to eat once I left.
‘I also needed speech and language therapy as part of my tongue was removed.
‘My new tongue was quite bulky’
‘It was all really swollen for a long time but eventually I started to enjoy eating again.’
Mrs Marsh was initially diagnosed with mouth cancer in October 2016 but has since undergone further surgery just two months ago.
She added: ‘My new tongue was quite bulky so I needed it to be trimmed back once all the swelling had settled.
‘It has been over 18 months since my first diagnosis and I have opened up on social media about how it has affected me mentally.
‘I have documented my story online and despite having a really supportive husband, James, 33, it’s impossible not to feel different after being diagnosed with cancer.
‘If sharing my story saves one life it’s worthwhile’
‘I hope being open with my story helps others seek help – if it saves one person’s life then it’s worthwhile.
‘If you have an ulcer, white patches or a lump in your mouth then make sure you get it checked.’
Mrs Marsh believes she is one of the youngest people in the UK to be diagnosed with mouth cancer – another reason why she feels it’s important to share her story.
‘Doctors were shocked because I was so young’
She said: ‘Doctors were all shocked when I was diagnosed as I was so young, but it shows it can happen to anyone.
Mrs Marsh’s lifesaving surgery left her with a big wound on her arm, from where surgeons took the flesh they used to repair the mother-of-one’s tongue
Mrs Marsh also had lymph nodes removed from her neck to make sure the cancer – with which she thinks she is one of the youngest people to have been diagnosed – could not spread to other parts of her body
‘Due to my age I have recovered well from surgery and hopefully I will remain cancer free for the next few years so I’m given the all clear.
‘I currently have check-ups every eight weeks but this will be extended the longer I’m in remission.
‘I’m so thankful to have a second chance and I know my positive attitude has helped ensure I beat cancer.
‘Me and James have had a tough couple of years but it has made us stronger than ever.’
Mrs Marsh says she and her husband James, 33, have been through a tough time with hers and her son’s illnesses, but she is now sharing her story to warn young people they could get mouth cancer, too
‘I am delighted Elizabeth is making a full recovery’
Sunil Bhatia, consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, added: ‘Elizabeth presented with a large growth on her tongue that had to be removed and then reconstructed to allow her to eat, swallow and talk again.
‘To do this we took a flap of skin, along with its arteries and veins, from Elizabeth’s arm and plumbed it into branches of the carotid artery and jugular vein, using incredibly fine sutures under a microscope.
‘This type of operation can take between eight and 12 hours.
‘The procedure was a complete success and I am delighted Elizabeth is making a full recovery. We are still in touch with one another and it’s great to see her doing so well.’