A woman who visited the dentist for a broken tooth was told that she had a tumour in her mouth and would have faced almost certain death if the problem had not been discovered. Lisa Epsom broke a tooth when she opened her son’s juice bottle with her mouth, and visited the dentist to get it repaired, only to be told that a small red spot on the roof of her mouth was actually cancer. After a fourteen hour operation to remove a golf ball sized tumour from behind her cheek, the 34-year-old was left severely disfigured but glad to be alive.
Ms Epsom told mailonline ‘That Fruit Shoot bottle saved my life. Had I not opened it with my teeth, I would not be here. I’ve lost my looks and feel disfigured. People stare at me in the street but I’m alive and can watch my kids grown up, so it’s a small price to pay.’
The mother-of-four now wants to raise awareness of mouth cancer as she had never heard of the disease before. She added that her confidence had taken a hit but found that she was ‘learning to live again… and that’s more important than anything.’ Ms Epsom added ‘I’ve learned so much about what’s important and that I have amazing family and friends who have supported me every step of the way. I also know it’s vital to visit the dentist regularly. Mine saved my life.’