David attributes one choice to saving his life.
After discovering a lump weeks after his 50th birthday, a BBC presenter has urged people to ignore the signs of cancer. David Cowan, a journalist for TV, claims that choosing to see a general practitioner saved his life.
David said: “It’s far better to know whether you’ve got cancer or not, you need to not delay and get it checked out.” In late 2017, TV reporter David, from Edinburgh, noticed a small, hard, painless lump in his neck just weeks after his 50th birthday. After checking the NHS website, he booked a GP appointment, a decision he now credits with saving his life.
“My knowledge of mouth cancer was largely very, very superficial,” David said. I was aware of its existence. It never occurred to me that the dentists would check you when they examined you to see if there were any signs of it.
In a significant number of cases, I was also blissfully unaware that the human papillomavirus (HPV) is implicated in mouth cancer. I had no idea of the risks it might entail and was very ignorant of what it might entail. I noticed a lump in my neck about the size of a piece of wine gum a few weeks after my 50th birthday. It appeared to be hard, just beneath my jawline, and it wasn’t sore either.
That seems strange to me. For a few days, I didn’t do anything about it. I initially assumed it would go away before I decided to look up my symptoms on the NHS website, where it was very clear that you should contact your GP practice if you have a painful, hard lump in your neck that won’t go away.
They recommended specialists to me right away. Later, my GP informed me that she was immediately concerned about the possibility of cancer. About a month later, a doctor noticed the lump on my neck and determined that it was cancer when I was taken to an NHS Lothian clinic in Edinburgh for tests.
“I was informed that there was a 90% chance of the treatment being successful because it had been discovered early. I lost two stones during the treatment, and I had to take a five-month break from work, but it was well worth it because I’m still here.
My consultant had already warned me about mouth cancer, but it’s not pleasant to treat it. They explained what would happen, and I recall thinking, “They did warn me this would happen,” as I remember during treatment.
“The NHS website directed me to check out my symptom, and I’m very glad I did,” I said. “I had no real hesitation in doing so. Although it’s frightening to think that you might have cancer, it’s much better to be aware than to wait in the dark and wait to have your symptoms evaluated.
I had a fantastic experience the entire time, and I felt like I was being embraced by the NHS’s experts. I felt the NHS fought my cancer for me, and I just continued to enjoy the ride. Although there are many talks about fighting cancer, I don’t. My family, friends, and coworkers all gave me incredibly helpful advice. They encouraged me to approach the entire experience in a positive way, which the doctors determined was crucial.
In June 2018, I received my all-clear. A lot of people enjoyed it. If I hadn’t recovered from my cancer in its entirety with the aid of the NHS, there have been many wonderful things that have occurred in the seven years since I started getting sick. I’m now attempting to appreciate life’s smaller details more and to reflect on my place of blessing.
“Having cancer changed my life, but now I can live well and enjoy life with my family and our dog.”
In order to raise awareness and raise awareness of Mouth Cancer Action Month in November, David was asked to share his story and the advantages of early detection. “Mental cancer needs to be made more widely known. My mouth cancer, according to what I was told, was getting more prevalent. It was only relatively uncommon. I’m delighted to see that both boys and girls are now receiving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations in their classrooms to prevent this from occurring.
No matter where the cancer is located, a more effective treatment is available if it is discovered early. The key to treating cancer is getting as soon as you can, which means that anyone who is concerned about something must seek medical attention regardless of how terrifying it may be.
“It’s very fortunate to be here,” I said. This Mouth Cancer Action Month, the Be the Early Bird campaign’s goal is to encourage people to go check out if they are concerned about something, regardless of whether they have reservations about going.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply