After suffering for a number of years with teeth and gum issues, in October 2019, then aged 73, Rita Williamson living in Cork felt something more serious was going on. “I had been losing teeth and suffering from irritated gums for about 3 to 4 years. But by October 2019, something was different. I began to experience some ear irritation as well and by December of that year, I pushed for tests to see if the two were connected.”
After being referred for a private biopsy and tooth extraction at a cost of over €1,000, Rita explained she could not afford this and was eventually referred to the South Infirmary in Cork. “In March 2020, just as Covid was happening, I received my diagnosis for Squamous Cell Carcinoma—a mouth cancer—in my jaw. When I got the diagnosis, I wasn’t really that shocked, because I think I knew for some time that something wasn’t quite right. Even though I’m not much of a worrier, when I was going into hospital to begin my treatment and my husband left me at the front door as he couldn’t come in with me because of the pandemic, that was a scary time. I didn’t know if I was ever going to walk out of that hospital again because Covid was such an unknown at that point. I remember it being quite hard during my treatment, because I found it very difficult to understand what the staff were saying with all the gowns and PPE. It was quite a lonely and difficult time.”
"You have to adapt and you have to keep going. My diet is very different now but I haven’t wasted away and I’m still here.”
For her treatment, Rita would require significant surgery and the effective removal of her jaw bone. “They had to move up some of my pectoral muscle to my face and I got a steel plate in my jaw. This was very uncomfortable as you can imagine and made eating very difficult. I was initially told I would require a feeding tube through my stomach for 4 weeks while my face healed, but this ended up going on for months.”
Following further tests by doctors, in October 2020 an abscess was found in Rita’s jaw. “I was advised by the plastic surgeon to remove the steel plate because it wasn’t healing properly and causing infection. This was mostly cosmetic but meant that my face would look different. I didn’t really care about that, I just wanted to get on with my life and not have to worry about infection recurring. You have to adapt and you have to keep going. My diet is very different now but I haven’t wasted away and I’m still here.”
Rita has lived in Ireland in West Cork for over 20 years and is married to her husband Frank, for over 60 years. “We loved Ireland when settled here and 7 years ago I became an Irish citizen at a lovely ceremony in Killarney. When I left hospital after my treatment, I thought I wouldn’t go out much and just stay at home, but that didn’t last very long. I’m one of these ‘just get on with it’ types of people and post my treatment, I have found huge value in attending my local cancer support centre in Bantry. I’m back volunteering part-time in a local charity shop. I have gotten involved in some Patient & Public Involvement (PPI) research, and I do my best to help here. I also do two exercise classes per week which I find really useful – they are age-friendly classes of course!”
"I’m over it now, but at the time, I was angry because you’re left with the what if questions."
Rita is sharing her story to mark Mouth Cancer Awareness Day and is calling on the public to persist and get things checked out if they don’t feel right. “I don’t feel I dismissed my symptoms. I was quite worried about them and kept asking for more tests. I think because I had a history of mouth issues, some of the people dealing with me didn’t suspect cancer. I’m over it now, but at the time, I was angry because you’re left with the what if questions. What if my cancer had been caught sooner, maybe my surgery wouldn’t have been so difficult? That would be my one message to people, please if you notice any persistent changes in your mouth that aren’t going away, push and push for the right tests to be done. I had also long been a smoker but had given up sometime before my diagnosis. I have no doubt that contributed and increased my risk of cancer. If you are a smoker, I would say stop if you can and if you’re not a smoker, don’t start!”
Rita's story is being shared to mark Mouth Cancer Awareness Day. For more information on mouth cancer, you can visit our website here: Mouth, head and neck cancer | Irish Cancer Society
For any questions or concerns relating to cancer, please don't hesitate to contact the Irish Cancer Society's Support Line at 1800 200 700 or email supportline@irishcancer.ie.
