• 11/10/2005
  • Birmingham, England
  • Emma Brady
  • Birmingham Post (icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk)

It’s hard to pick up, but Muriel Bishop is frightened. As the 78-year-old waits for the anaesthetist to arrive, she admits she is a little worried about her eight-hour operation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Edgbaston.

The retired book-keeper, from Wylde Green, is having surgery to remove her tongue which is being weighed down by a golfball-sized tumour. It is being replaced with a prosthetic tongue.

Ulcers were first spotted on her tongue in 1984 which were later diagnosed as cancer and Mrs Bishop underwent a course of radiotherapy. But years of smoking had already left their legacy and the symptoms eventually returned, resulting in difficulty eating and drinking.

“At the moment I can’t swallow very well and I’m hoping that when this is over I shall be able to get back to normal,” said Mrs Bishop.

“I’d had a biopsy and then a few weeks ago I realised my tongue felt different, it was all ulcerated, so I went to see my consultant, Sat Parmar, and he recommended this procedure.

“Obviously I’m scared but I’ve every faith in the doctors here, and I’m sure Mr Parmar will do a great job.” Mrs Bishop’s case is fairly advanced but the number of mouth and other oral cancers is rising.

Linked to excessive drinking and smoking, health bosses are keen to raise public awareness about this form of cancer, which accounts for a sixth of all cancers in Britain.

Mr Parmar, an oral and maxiofacial consultant at UHB, explained that a 20-aday smoker faces a ten-fold risk of developing the disease, and those who drink and smoke heavily are 24 times more likely have an oral cancer.

As Cancer Research UK launches its nationwide campaign on Sunday, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is staging its own Oral Cancer Awareness Week, which runs until November 19. More than 4,400 people are diagnosed with mouth cancer every year, and more than a third – about 1,600 – die from the disease.

Many people may know what the signs of breast, skin or testicular cancer are, but dentists are more likely to recognise mouth cancer.

Mr Parmar said: “Dentists do act as a good ‘screen’ for these symptoms, but I realise that getting to see a dentist is becoming more difficult.

“Not all ulcers or changes in the mouth are necessarily signs of cancer, but if it persists a check-up can’t do any harm.”

A mouth ulcer or a speckled tongue is often seen as a sign that someone is run down but these can also be early symptoms of mouth cancer.

These can progress into other parts of the face – into the cheek, sinus, nose or eyes – which are described as oral cancers. The trust’s oral cancer team will be holding daily sessions around Birmingham’s churches, mosques and temples to target the city’s ethnic population.

Mr Parmar said: “Because the West Midlands has a high immigrant population, oral is the most common cancer.

“Aside from smoking, chewing ‘paan’ tobacco – which is held in the mouth – is common practice among the region’s Asian communities.

“Certainly patients from these communities tend to present with advanced symptoms, which is why we are keen to get out there to increase their awareness.”