A woman has undergone groundbreaking surgery to replace her tongue with arm tissue after battling cancer.
Rebecca Patterson from Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire, was 38 when she was diagnosed with tongue cancer in April 2018 – shortly after getting engaged.
Mrs Patterson, a learning support assistant, had a sore spot on her tongue and a white patch in her mouth for around eight years which never went away.
Rebecca Patterson pictured) from Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire, was 38 when she was diagnosed with tongue cancer in April 2018 – shortly after getting engaged
She was initially diagnosed with oral thrush but she was in so much pain she could barely speak or eat.
She then had a biopsy and received the devastating call from a nurse.
Mrs Patterson said: ‘You can never prepare yourself for hearing the words ”it’s cancer”.
‘I sat in the consultant’s room trying to process what was happening thinking am I going to die? Will I lose my tongue? How will life ever be normal again?
‘My world had shattered into a million pieces. I remember saying to the consultant: ‘I can’t have cancer, my life with my fiancé is just beginning.’
After the diagnosis, Mrs Patterson underwent 11 and a half hours of surgery at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. Surgeons removed the right side of her tongue and then removed the skin and an artery from her left arm (pictured) to build her a new tongue
‘I wanted answers to all these questions but didn’t want to hear them. I felt so overwhelmed with different emotions.
‘I also kept flitting between feeling physically sick with worry – to relief that I finally had a concrete answer.’
After the diagnosis, Mrs Patterson underwent 11 and a half hours of surgery at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
Surgeons removed the right side of her tongue and then removed the skin and an artery from her left arm to build her a new tongue.
The team of doctors also removed the right lymph nodes in her neck and two back teeth so the tongue would fit.
Mrs Patterson added: ‘I woke to find my arm bandaged, two drains coming out of my neck, a tracheostomy and a feeding tube.
‘Whilst recovering in hospital, I went through a lot of ups and downs. I couldn’t speak for a week and could only communicate through writing everything down.
‘My trachea would leak, and I would end up with crusty secretions around my neck, my arm was like a dead weight and I had very restricted movement in my neck.
‘I couldn’t do anything independently and relied on the nurses to wash, dress and move me. I felt trapped inside my own body. My self-esteem was at an all-time low.’
After being discharged from hospital, Mrs Patterson struggled to get her life back to normal.
Mrs Patterson has decided to reveal how she came to terms with cancer and coped with life post-surgery (pictured on her wedding day to Craig)
She said: ‘Meal times were hard because I had to eat pureed food, I was breathless, I couldn’t shower easily because of my scars and I needed help to go to the toilet. I wanted to feel like ‘me’ again.’
But she has decided to reveal how she came to terms with cancer and coped with life post-surgery.
Mrs Patterson’s Macmillan nurse referred her to the Clinical Psychology Cancer Service based at King’s Mill Hospital to help with emotional support, where she met Macmillan Clinical Psychologist, Dr Sanchia Biswas.
Mrs Patterson said: ‘The cancer returning was always at the forefront of my mind – it was my biggest fear.
Mrs Patterson (pictured) said: ‘Meal times were hard because I had to eat pureed food, I was breathless, I couldn’t shower easily because of my scars and I needed help to go to the toilet. I wanted to feel like ‘me’ again’
‘Sanchia played a huge part in helping me recover. Therapy might not be for everyone, but for me it has really helped me identify triggers to my panic and how to allow my unhelpful thoughts to come and go.’
Dr Biswas, Macmillan Clinical Psychologist, said: ‘It is not unusual to find it difficult to cope with a diagnosis of cancer, the treatment or life afterwards.
‘However, it is important to recognise unhelpful thoughts and emotions that may be keeping you trapped in ‘vicious cycles’.
‘Rebecca utilised therapy to help break these cycles and re-connect her with life-fulfilling values. We have a fantastic self-help website with a range of information and tools to help people with the emotional impact of living with cancer.
‘If you need emotional support or just someone to talk to, you can also call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00 7 days a week.’
Source: dailymail.co.uk