'My beard was covering a lump that turned out to be cancer’

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A father-of-two shaved off his beard – only to make the horrific discovery that it had been disguising a life-threatening lump.

The Bolton dad had shaved off his beard ready for a wedding when his wife noticed the small lump on his neck. The fit and healthy 50-year-old, Tex Leece, was not too worried at first, but when the lump didn’t go anywhere, he got tested and was devastated to discover it was throat cancer. “It was a total shock!

I went a bit numb at first. I’m a really positive person and I’ve always looked after myself. None of my friends could believe it,” explained the shocked Tex. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. Tex, from Farnworth, used to play semi-pro football in his spare time and has completed nine Ironman triathlon events – he was known for being very fit and healthy.

So when his wife first spotted the lump, Tex wasn’t too concerned. Tex, who has worked at Warburtons for 34 years, said: “I thought it was a cyst but then it didn’t go down for three or four weeks.