In 2018, Charlotte Webster-Salter of Petersfield in England began struggling with recurring canker sores on her tongue.
The 27-year-old visited both a dentist and a general practitioner to have him examined. The dentist put it in the context that wisdom teeth were about to grow in, while the primary care physician couldn’t give her a concrete answer.
I thought it was due to stress
Charlotte, who was working as cabin crew at the time, accepted that the sores in her mouth were due to a stressful day at work.
– I thought it was strange that mouth sores always appear in the same place, but I kept ignoring them. I concluded the condition was due to stress or exhaustion, she adds The independent.
He made a wax doll of his dead wife
For the next two years, the sores kept coming back. When they finally turned into white, painful spots, Charlotte saw her family doctor again.
This time she was referred to an ear-nose-throat specialist, who took a biopsy of tissue from her tongue.
– I just laughed
Tests showed that a tumor of the type squamous cell carcinoma, called squamous cell carcinoma in Norwegian, had grown in his mouth. Doctors classified it as a form of head and neck cancer.
The mother, Sam (51), had just finished treatment for breast cancer and was on the road to recovery when her daughter was diagnosed.
Charlotte then reacted with shock and disbelief when doctors broke the news to her.
– I just laughed when they told me. I was so shocked that I didn’t know how to react. Cancer was the last thing I suspected, says the 27-year-old.
– The hardest thing was to tell my mother, so I waited to do it until I met her face to face. She had been through so much, so it was heartbreaking to tell her that her daughter was also suffering from cancer, she says.
Fear of losing the ability to speak
In June 2021, Charlotte underwent a nearly ten-hour operation at Queen Alexander Hospital in Portsmouth. The operation involved removing part of her tongue and replacing it with a thigh muscle.
Blinded by massive roars
To check if the cancer had spread, they also removed a lymph node in the 27-year-old’s neck for testing.
Following the operation, Charlotte had to breathe through a throat tracheostomy, a tube that is inserted down the throat if the upper airway is blocked.
Neither Charlotte nor the doctors knew what the outcome of the operation would be. They couldn’t be sure she would ever be able to eat, drink or talk normally again.
AFTER THE SURGERY: Charlotte had to breathe through a tracheostomy — a tube down her throat — for two weeks after her surgery. Photo: SWNS
sea View
Therefore, she and her boyfriend Tom (31) made sure to enjoy the evening before the operation to the fullest.
– Tom and I went for a curry and it was amazing. No one really knew what the outcome would be. Losing the ability to speak was what I feared the most, she says.
“Hello”
The operation was successful, but shortly afterwards he had to undergo emergency surgery for another four hours because the attached part of his tongue had lost its blood supply. This operation also went well.
Samples taken from the lymph node showed no signs of spreading, and two weeks later doctors were able to remove the tracheostomy in Charlotte’s throat.
He made a life-threatening discovery: – Idiot
When they realized he was still able to speak, they were moved.
– My first word was “hello”, and then their eyes became watery with tears, she says.
– The first sip of water was honestly the best feeling. I caught Tom and Mum chatting to them when they arrived – it was a very touching moment, she says.
Following the muscle transplant, his tongue became two-colored.
– Sounds like a love of chopsticks. There’s also a freckle above it, which I once had on my thigh, she says.
Charlotte’s horror experience: – Will warn others
It will warn others
In September of that year, after being declared sane, Charlotte started college. Today she is studying to become a midwife.
Due to her young age, the doctors were shocked that she was affected by the type of cancer.
– We hear constantly about breast and prostate cancer, but rarely about oral cancer. It is usually older men and smokers who receive this diagnosis. Doctors had never treated a young person like me, she says.
Charlotte then wants to warn the others.
– I’m a rare case because I’m so young – it was all a mystery to the doctors. At the same time, I think it’s extremely important to be aware of symptoms regardless of age.
– We need to raise awareness about it out there. If only one person reads my story and recognizes the symptoms, it’s worth it, she says.
