Teen with tongue cancer to become face of new campaign

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A medical student diagnosed with a rare tongue cancer is campaigning to stop the disease destroying teenage lives. Rachel Morton, 22, from Law in Lanarkshire, was diagnosed at just 19 while in her second year at Edinburgh University.In 2019 Rachel started to suffer from painful mouth ulcers, then she became increasingly tired, falling asleep in the daytime.

She later developed rashes on her lips and after several GP appointments was referred for a biopsy.In December 2020 her life changed completely when she was diagnosed with advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma, a tongue cancer.

She was rushed into surgery for a 16-hour-operation after it was discovered two-thirds of her tongue had become cancerous and that the cancer had spread into her jaw and lymph nodes.All had to be removed, as well as the blood supply, and surgeons then used muscle and blood vessels from her legs to reconstruct her tongue and the arteries and veins in her neck.

After the operation Rachel was left unable to speak or walk, and as the cancer was aggressive, she had to undergo gruelling sessions of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.As her treatment took place at the height of the pandemic, she was unable to have visitors or mingle with other patients so the support of her Teenage Cancer Trust Nurse Fiona and Youth Support Worker Nicola were vitally important to her.Rachel said their support saved her life “both physically and mentally” and she is asking people to donate to the charity’s Stop Cancer Destroying Teenage Lives campaign.