IF ONLY CANCER COULD TALK...
My Dad was a successful journalist. He loved life and he loved talking. Sadly, he also loved smoking and drinking. Which is why, in 1979, he had his tongue removed along with the tumour that had grown all the way down his throat. He survived, due to the dedication of two amazing surgeons. But his life was never the same again.
Harry Brown in 1969 outside the Football League in Lytham St Annes Lancashire where he was Public Relations officer
Below is an excerpt from an article I wrote in a national women's magazine at the time.
'We all remember Humphrey Bogart, Jack Hawkins, Steve McQueen, John Wayne, Diana Dors - the cast is endless. They all died in a blaze of publicity. But there are other, less well-know victims whose lives go on day by day - those who the doctors have saved from cancer but not from themselves.
In 1979 my father went into hospital for major surgery on a growth on his tongue. Six weeks later a man who bore my father's name returned home. The lively, gregarious, good looking man had been reduced to a shrivelled, mutilated wreck. The surgeons had saved his life but they had lost sight of his dignity.
His operation was very much an experiment, and he is still counting the cost. They removed his tongue (he is a journalist) and mutilated his face leaving him totally unable to speak and unrecognisable as the man he was before. He can talk now and he tells me in muted, muffled tones what it is like to be stared at by adults, jeered at by children - 'Been in a car crash have ya mister?' and regarded as a freak by the world around him.
Medical science has, of course, moved on since then. But what I didn't say in that article was that my father was terrified of dentists after waking up during a tooth extraction when he was a boy. He knew he had a 'sore' in his mouth but put off having it checked out until it was too late.
I'd like to think that telling his story today might help save someone's life.
Mouth Cancer Action Month is here to make people aware of this frightening disease. Please don't think it won't happen to you.
Mouth Cancer Action Month1 - 30 November 2015
What is Mouth Cancer Action Month?Mouth Cancer Action Month is a charity campaign which aims to raise awareness of mouth cancer and make a difference by saving thousands of lives through early detection and prevention.…
You can find out more about Mouth Cancer Action Month on Mouth Cancer FoundationPlease let me know what you think. Your comments are always welcome.
Harry Brown in 1969 outside the Football League in Lytham St Annes Lancashire where he was Public Relations officerBelow is an excerpt from an article I wrote in a national women's magazine at the time.
'We all remember Humphrey Bogart, Jack Hawkins, Steve McQueen, John Wayne, Diana Dors - the cast is endless. They all died in a blaze of publicity. But there are other, less well-know victims whose lives go on day by day - those who the doctors have saved from cancer but not from themselves.
In 1979 my father went into hospital for major surgery on a growth on his tongue. Six weeks later a man who bore my father's name returned home. The lively, gregarious, good looking man had been reduced to a shrivelled, mutilated wreck. The surgeons had saved his life but they had lost sight of his dignity.
His operation was very much an experiment, and he is still counting the cost. They removed his tongue (he is a journalist) and mutilated his face leaving him totally unable to speak and unrecognisable as the man he was before. He can talk now and he tells me in muted, muffled tones what it is like to be stared at by adults, jeered at by children - 'Been in a car crash have ya mister?' and regarded as a freak by the world around him.
Medical science has, of course, moved on since then. But what I didn't say in that article was that my father was terrified of dentists after waking up during a tooth extraction when he was a boy. He knew he had a 'sore' in his mouth but put off having it checked out until it was too late.
I'd like to think that telling his story today might help save someone's life.
Mouth Cancer Action Month is here to make people aware of this frightening disease. Please don't think it won't happen to you.
Mouth Cancer Action Month1 - 30 November 2015
What is Mouth Cancer Action Month?Mouth Cancer Action Month is a charity campaign which aims to raise awareness of mouth cancer and make a difference by saving thousands of lives through early detection and prevention.…
You can find out more about Mouth Cancer Action Month on Mouth Cancer FoundationPlease let me know what you think. Your comments are always welcome.
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