A brave mum who is battling cancer for the FOURTH time has revealed how she initially thought she had bitten her tongue until doctors revealed her ulcer was mouth cancer.
Lisa Colledge, from Great Sankey in Warrington, Cheshire, first went to her GP back in May 2018 with a mouth abscess.
But when it didn't clear up she visited an out-of-hours surgery, where medics referred her for more tests including an MRI.
Despite the tests returning clear, Lisa was still in pain and her consultant decided to carry out a biopsy which revealed she had oral cancer just a few weeks later.
Since this first diagnosis, Lisa has battled cancer a further three times, Liverpool Echo reports.
Speaking of the 2018 diagnosis, Lisa, now 43, said: "Straight away the mum hat went on as, 11 years ago, I lost my dad to cancer and our daughter wasn’t finding out here and now, so the consultant told me Aintree Hospital would be in touch for all my appointments.
"Out I walked, with a smile on my face, told my daughter that I was fine, and off we went to her eye appointment.
"I then had to break the news to my husband and our families. How do I tell my family the C word is back in our family?
"Last time we heard it, we lost my dad, well it wasn’t taking me. I’m not ready yet, so positive pants are firmly on and I will beat it, I will be a survivor and hopefully raise awareness.
"A week and a half later, my husband and I went to see the consultant at Aintree Hospital. He explained percentages and other figures. I remember asking: 'Am I going to be ok?'
"I do plain talking, not percentages. Once I knew more and had answers to the questions she might have, we told our daughter all we knew and I made sure I was honest with her.
"My husband and I were both positive as it had been caught early and success rates were high but she had a little cry before taking on our positivity."
Lisa went on to have an operation in November 2018 and it appeared the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes - three of which had to be removed, along with 3cm of her tongue.
Despite all Lisa went through she got "wedding fit" and married her partner, Simon.
Following more tests and biopsies, Lisa found out in January 2019 she had thyroid cancer, meaning two types of cancer were growing at the same time. She had to have her thyroid gland and more of her tongue removed.
Lisa suffered from infections and nerve pain but, in November 2019, she was told she was cancer-free. Then, in July 2020, doctors told her the cancer had returned.
She had more scans and an operation to remove the cancer. During one point of this period of treatment, an artery in Lisa's mouth burst, which she described as "like someone had turned a tap on".
Lisa said: "Next thing, I’m having injections to stop the bleeding and my room is full of surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists.
"They wanted me to sign the form for the surgery and I noticed they put on it that they want to put a tracheostomy in, in case it becomes a matter of life or death.
"My fear of losing my voice then came in and I thought there is no way that I should sign this. They then told me: 'It’s a case of losing you or saving you, we have to do it'. Good point, I’m a mum and I’m not going anywhere yet so I signed."
This surgery was a success and Lisa was once again cancer-free, but needed MRI scans every three months as medics had noticed "aggressive features."
Once again, in February this year, Lisa began suffering with pain in her left jaw.
Doctors told her this was an infection in her wisdom tooth following tests and an ultrasound. She was given antibiotics and was given a check-up the following week.
During her check-up, Lisa's consultant noticed a "small ulcer" on the back of her tongue, but the mum thought she "may have bit it."
However, the problem escalated when she started struggling to open her mouth wide enough to eat.
Devastatingly, Lisa was told last month that the mouth cancer had returned. Lisa said: "I was numb, how can it be the fourth time?"
She underwent a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy [PEG] to fit a tube allowing her to eat and has started chemotherapy.
Lisa's friend, Cathy Beck, has set up a GoFundMe page to "take the stress away" of any financial issues the family may face as Lisa is currently unable to work.
Writing on the fundraising page, Cathy said: "Lisa is the type of girl who will help anyone with no questions asked. So now we want to help her.
"At the moment due to her health Lisa is unable to work. This alone can cause massive stress as no matter how unwell you are, bills still need to be paid.
"We would like to take the added stress away from her and her family so they can concentrate on her whilst she is receiving treatment."
