Mum forced to have half of tongue removed after doctors 'dismissed white mark as her biting it' for years
A British mum was forced to have part of her tongue removed after doctors dismissed a white mark in her mouth for over 20 years.
Although doctors may well know far more about the body than we do, we know our own bodies best, and there have been many examples of people being denied treatment despite knowing that something is wrong.
One student who was diagnosed with a brain tumour was told by doctors that she was drinking too much as a fresher at university, while a young mother was given just 12 months to live after her 'heartburn' turned out to be an aggressive form of cancer.
For Sharon Moreby, a 54-year-old mum from Barnsley, it's been a 20-year battle to get dentists and doctors to finally give her a diagnosis, after she discovered a peculiar white mark in her mouth.
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She rang her dentist after spotting the cobweb-like mark while brushing her teeth but says she was repeatedly told that the mark was dysplasia - a growth of abnormal but non-cancerous cells.
Desperate for answers, she even underwent eight biopsies and a laser treatment on the left side of her tongue, but doctors continued to insist the mark was not harmful.
It wasn't until August 2023, by which point her symptoms had worsened and now included earache, jaw pain, issues swallowing, and a new, unexplained lump on her neck, that Sharon was finally able to make some progress.
Another biopsy that month confirmed that she had an aggressive HPV-related tongue cancer.
She said: "They kept doing biopsies. It was getting more severe. They kept saying it was dysplasia. I thought it can't be cancer, I've had that many biopsies.
"They made me wear braces for two years because they thought I was biting my tongue in my sleep. Obviously it didn't work because I wasn't doing that. That just aggravated it.
"I think I probably had cancer at that point and I was told I was just biting my tongue. I went to the GP and explained all the pain I was in and they said it was probably to do with menopause.
"I felt like no one was listening to me. It was like I was hitting a brick wall."
It was finally her dental hygienist who referred her for another biopsy which confirmed the cancer. Just two months later, Sharon underwent a neck dissection to remove the cancer from her mouth followed by a tongue reconstruction performed using tissue from her left arm.
Although she is thankfully now in remission, Sharon says she was let down by the health system after being denied treatment for so long.
She concluded: "I've no idea why all my biopsies came back clear. I think if I'd left it much longer, I don't think I'd be here.
"I feel like I was let down. I don't know if that white patch I found all those years ago was cancer. Now looking back, why didn't they look into it more? Why did it keep coming back?
"I would've died if I'd listened to the advice of doctors. I'd say to other people follow your gut and keep pushing with doctors."
James Moorhouse