A young woman faces losing nearly half of her tongue after mouth ulcers were found to be a symptom of cancer.
Olivia Donnelly, 25, from Dover, first began suffering excruciating ulcers in early 2024, with the pain so severe she was left ‘crying her eyes out’ and struggling to eat or speak.
Despite multiple trips to her GP and tests for conditions including vitamin deficiencies, Crohn’s disease and diabetes, doctors were unable to find a cause.
It wasn’t until nearly a year later, during a visit to her dentist, that she was referred to specialists in hospital.
In January 2025, a biopsy revealed she had oral lichen planus – a little-known inflammatory condition that can increase the risk of developing mouth cancer.
After this, her symptoms appeared to ease, giving her false hope the worst was behind her.
‘I thought they might have cut something out when they did the biopsy,’ she said.
But by August, the ulcers had flared up once more, with specialists initially blaming her teeth rubbing against her tongue and giving her a gum guard to wear at night.
Then, in January this year, she noticed a hard lump forming on her tongue.
A specialist compared images of her mouth from the previous year and, despite initial reassurances, ordered another biopsy ‘just to rule out cancer’.
Following her biopsy in March, Ms Donnelly was told she could expect results in six to eight weeks.
But when she got a call two weeks later, she knew it wasn’t good news.
‘I just knew,’ she said. ‘Why would they call me back so early if it was nothing?’
My heart just sank,’ she said. I was crying, staring into space – I wasn’t taking anything in.
‘I kept asking, “What do I do now?”‘
The reality of her diagnosis hit even harder when cancer support staff entered the room.
‘That’s when it really hit me,’ she said. ‘I asked them, ‘Am I going to die?’
Now, Ms Donnelly faces a gruelling two-week hospital stay – and a major operation that will see surgeons remove 40 per cent of her tongue.
Doctors will rebuild it using skin taken from her wrist.
She will then have to be fed through a tube and undergo intensive therapy to learn how to eat and speak again.
Now, she is warning others not to ignore seemingly minor symptoms.
According to the NHS, a tongue ulcer that lasts more than three weeks is a primary symptom of mouth cancer and should be examined by a dentist or doctor, especially if it is painful, bleeds or does not heal.
These ulcers are often firm, raised, and may appear red or white, typically occurring on the sides or underside of the tongue
Cancers that affect the head and neck are the eighth most common form of cancer overall in the UK, although they are two to three times more common in men than in women.
About 12,500 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to Cancer Research UK, and incidences are expected to increase by three per cent between 2024-2026 and 2038-2040, with around 16,300 new cases each year by 2038-2040.
