Published on 9 November 2021
After four bouts of cancer, not many people would describe themselves as lucky – but that’s exactly how retired printer Anthony Page feels.
He was first told he had mouth cancer in 2014, and more tumours were discovered in 2016, 2018 and 2020, each requiring major surgery to remove them and rebuild the inside of his mouth.
But despite multiple operations, plus a gruelling course of radiotherapy, the dad of three insists he still considers himself to be lucky – partly because of the fantastic treatment he has received from the staff at East Kent Hospitals.
Anthony, 71, who lives in Folkestone, said: “I have had the best experience you could have, while having something you really don’t want, so I do feel like a very lucky person.
“It was very unlucky to keep having cancer but lucky to be born in this country where we have the NHS, and lucky to have met the most wonderful staff along the way who have looked after me.
“I also feel lucky I had a dentist who spotted something and referred me on, and to have had such fantastic treatment and vigilant care from the NHS. I wouldn’t be here without my consultant Jeremy McKenzie and a whole army of people who have helped and supported me.”
Anthony’s cancer was first spotted when he visited his dentist to have dentures fitted. He was referred to Mr McKenzie at the William Harvey Hospital, and a biopsy was taken that day. The results, together with scan images and a blood test, confirmed it was cancer.
He said: “I was shell-shocked, like anyone would be. But from that moment everything was so efficient, everything was explained to me and I felt very well looked-after.”
After surgery to remove the tumour, Anthony was offered radiotherapy and decided to take it as the best chance of keeping the cancer at bay. But it proved debilitating and he had to take time off from his one-man business.
He said: “It really knocked me sideways so I couldn’t work and that led to financial worries – I think I was more worried about that than the cancer.
“But after the radiotherapy it was plain sailing, I had a new denture fitted once my mouth had recovered and I was back to normal with just monthly appointments and check-ups.”
Unfortunately, two years after the first tumour was spotted, Anthony was at a routine dental check-up when the dentist spotted an area on his lower gum that didn’t look right.
He was seen quickly by the team and had more surgery – this time removing some of his jaw bone and using skin from his cheek to cover the wound in his mouth.
Another two years followed without incident, but in 2018 Anthony spotted an unusual patch between his gum and his lips, and tests confirmed it was cancer. Surgeons had to remove part of the roof of his mouth as well as his gum, and he needed a prosthesis to cover the hole and allow him to eat and drink normally.
He said: “My speech was badly affected after that surgery and the hole in my mouth meant liquids would come out of my nose – great for clearing the sinuses if you are blocked up but not ideal for day-to-day life.
“I joked to my wife that I hoped to get through 2020 without another operation, as it seemed to be every two years.
“But unfortunately that wasn’t to be, and there was yet another tumour in my mouth.”
This time Anthony mentioned that he was concerned about a red patch in his mouth during one of his regular check-ups, which had moved to a telephone consultation because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Medics arranged for another call in a week, and when it had not improved they invited him in for tests and yet again had to break the news it was cancer.
Anthony said: “Despite Covid, my care was as excellent as it had been before and everything happened like before.
“Everything felt very safe and the staff in the hospital were as helpful and caring as ever. I also had fantastic support from Macmillan Cancer Support and their staff were brilliant.
“I have always felt like a person, with worries and concerns, rather than just a patient with cancer.
“I am an individual who has cancer but I am also part of a couple and having my wife by my side has really helped and made everything much more bearable.
“Even when I couldn’t speak after the operations, she helped me to communicate, whether through downloading an app on my phone so I could type and it would read the sentences, or by learning the rudimentary sign language I used.
“I do feel lucky to have had such exceptional treatment, and that I am still here to talk about it, and my message to everyone would be to make sure you have regular dental check-ups – I hadn’t even heard of mouth cancer until I developed it and without my dentist it might have been spotted too late.”
For more information on mouth cancer and what to look out for, visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/mouth-cancer/
