A dad was diagnosed with tongue cancer after his wife noticed his face looked “uneven.”
Stuart Kingston, 67, was struggling to swallow and hadn’t been eating but didn’t think anything of the strange symptoms, as he didn’t want to inconvenience his wife Carol.
She then realized “how uneven his face looked” and pushed him to go to the doctors – where he was later diagnosed with tongue cancer.
“During the pandemic, you naturally kept your distance from one another,” Carol said. “So it was only later on in the year when we went on a caravan trip and were in close proximity to each other, sat face to face, I saw how uneven Stuart’s face looked.”
After his diagnosis in October 2020, Stuart started five weeks of daily radiotherapy and then chemotherapy at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool.
The retired teacher even took part in a clinical trial so he could “help someone going through the same thing in the future.”
“The night before my treatment started, Carol and I went to see the Blackpool Illuminations,” Stuart said.
“We promised each other we’d come back when my treatment was finished. Even though it was another string to my bow in terms of fighting my cancer, my main reason for taking part was to give something back. If the cancer research and knowledge gained from my participation can help someone going through the same in the future, then sign me up.”
After having treatment, Stuart needed to re-learn how to swallow and use his tongue differently.
“When you’re having treatment every day, you know what to expect, you’re in a routine,” Stuart added. “There’s people around you to help and if you have any worries there’s always someone there to address that. But when I went home and the worries continued, I really started to struggle. This is why I’m eternally grateful for the speech and language therapy team at Clatterbridge. I couldn’t have made the progress I did without them.”
Stuart got the all clear in March 2022 and wants to encourage others to see their GP sooner than he did if they have any concerns.
“Don’t think you’re invincible like I did,” Stuart said. “Speak with a professional if you’re experiencing any symptoms and put yourself in the hands of the experts. No matter how independent or tough you think you are, you can’t cure this by yourself. Accept the help of people who are highly skilled and qualified. Have trust and faith in their abilities and go into everything with a positive attitude taking it a day at a time.”
Dr. Heulwen Sheldrick, a speech and language therapist at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre helped Stuart to learn how to swallow again.
“Stuart had a feeding tube fitted at the start of his treatment and our main focus was to adjust what/how to eat and drink in order to safely remove the tube,” Dr. Sheldrick said. “It can be quite frightening to do this, relearning how to swallow and use the tongue in a different way.”
“As a retired teacher, Stuart was really concerned about losing his ability to speak,” Dr. Sheldrick added. “But between the team’s support, Carol’s encouragement and Stuart’s hard work through speech and language therapy, he is now communicating in the clearest and most effective way possible.”
