'Sneeze and a bite' uncovered aggressive cancer for man, 26

Dan Durant, 26, first noticed he had an ulcer on the right side of his tongue in summer last year, but didn't think anything of it

A man has revealed how an accidental bite on his tongue led to a life-saving cancer diagnosis. Dan Durant, 26, initially dismissed what he thought was an ulcer on his tongue, but a sneeze and subsequent bite later inflamed the lump, prompting him to seek medical advice.

The Stafford bar supervisor was stunned when doctors at Stoke Hospital diagnosed him with aggressive squamous cell carcinoma, necessitating an 11-hour surgery where half of his tongue was removed and reconstructed using skin from his forearm. They also removed cancerous lymph nodes from his neck.

Dan is now awaiting biopsy results to determine if further treatment is needed. Recounting the ordeal, Dan said: "I sneezed really hard and ended up biting my tongue. It went really inflamed."

He added, "I was directed to Stoke Hospital and told it was cancer and it was aggressive. I had around 50 per cent of my tongue removed and reconstructed. The nurse said 'you were lucky you bit your tongue'."

Despite frequently getting ulcers, Dan didn't suspect anything serious when he first noticed the lump in August 2023, treating it with Bonjela and not giving it much thought. Unbeknown to him, weight loss and a persistent sore throat were also symptoms of his condition.

Dan described the initial symptom: "It was a grey, whitish patch. It was the size of a one pence coin. I didn't think of it after that. Mostly it just felt like it wasn't there."

However, he began to notice the ulcer again in April 2024 and it became inflamed in August when he accidentally bit down on it. He sought medical advice from his doctor, who suspected it might be cancerous and referred him to Royal Stoke University Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent.

Dan's cancer diagnosis was confirmed a week later, on August 21, 2024. He expressed his disbelief: "I didn't quite believe it could be cancer. Being told it was upsetting. I did have a cry. It was so surreal."

Dan was informed that the cancer was aggressive and immediate surgery was required to remove the tumour.

On September 12, 2024, he underwent an 11-and-a-half-hour operation. The doctors had initially planned for a partial removal of his tongue, but discovered a second tumour and ended up removing 50 per cent of it.

They also took a cancerous lymph node from his neck for a biopsy to confirm whether the cancer had spread. He explained the procedure: "They took skin from my forearm for my tongue and then the skin from my stomach to replace skin on my arm. They also used my the arteries from my forearm and put them into my tongue so there was a blood flow."

After the surgery, Dan spent eight days in hospital for recovery and adjustment to eating and drinking again. Currently on a soft food diet, he is awaiting the results from the biopsy on his lymph node.

Dan shared: "Learning to swallow properly was quite difficult. I'm just getting used to chewing. My jaw aches a lot. It's a lot of relearning things. If there are little to no cancer cells left it will just be one round of radiotherapy."

He recounted the challenges he faced after the diagnosis halted his plans to start a new job, rendering him unable to work. Dan also spoke on how he has been proactive in dealing with his situation by raising awareness and starting a fundraiser to cover his imminent living expenses, with any extra funds earmarked for cancer research donations.

His network of family and friends, as Dan expressed, have been a "wonderful supportive network". Detailing the impact of his health struggle, Dan said: "Everything is normal and then all of a sudden it is not. It's a life-changing thing."