A care worker has had muscle tissue removed from her arm to cover a hole in her throat after being diagnosed with a rare form of mouth cancer.
Victoria Christie, 29, from Pollok, Glasgow visited doctors after discovering a lump in the roof of her mouth while brushing her teeth one morning in August 2023.
After being referred by the dental hospital to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for two biopsies, she was diagnosed with a cancerous salivary gland tumour in January 2024.
She told STV News: “I was shocked. You never think yourself you’d get cancer, especially at such a young age.
“In care, you work with individuals who do have cancer, see how it affects them. You don’t think you get it so young.
“It was the fear of going under anaesthetic and not waking up, wondering if there was going to be anything different about me. It was the unknown.”
STV NewsVictoria’s family were left “devastated” by her diagnosis, dad Derek said.
The retired drummer said: “We were heartbroken. The last thing we expected was cancer.
“We were surprised as she’s fit and healthy. She’s never out of the gym, she never smoked or drank, and she works in a physical job. The other shock was it being so rare.
“When you hear that word you think ‘is this going to be fatal? How long has she got?’
“Her twin sister Michelle just burst into tears. I said, tears are not the answer – we need to stand together as a family and be strong, put our faith in the doctors to fight this and support Victoria in every way we can.
“We’ve been a close family – that has helped us through it.”
Victoria’s final operation in March lasted ten hours and saw muscle being taken from her arm to reconstruct part of her throat.
Though she was delighted to be told she is now cancer-free, she said it has been a tough road to recovery.
She said: “They had to make an incision in my neck to get the rest of the cancer and make sure they got all of it.
“Unfortunately, the healing wasn’t so great so I was left with a hole in my throat for four to five months.
“There’s a risk of nerve damage, slurred speech and a droop to my face, but thankfully the doctor bypassed that. I do have numbing to my face.”
She added: “I have the fear waking up every morning, not knowing what energy I’ll have, what my mental state will be.
“I still don’t have full strength in my arm. I don’t know if it will come back. That’s not good on my mental health either.
“I still wake up in the middle of the night thinking I’m still in hospital. It’s not been very nice.”
Derek said: “It was a very worrying time as you don’t know what’s ahead of you, what’s coming next. We just had to take it in our stride.
“Goodness knows what could have happened – the quick discovery of it, medical staff acted on it, didn’t waste any time getting her in.
STV News“Most of the support available for that cancer is in the US – she’s got no support apart from family and friends.
“More awareness and research is needed. More money needs to be put in NHS.”
Around 720 people are diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK.
Between 40 and 60 people are diagnosed with a cancerous salivary gland tumour in Scotland every year.
Facial surgeon Dr McCaul says Victoria’s case was particularly unusual.
He said: “Untreated cancer like this definitely can end someone’s life. It depends on the stage the patient is in when they first present with a salivary tumour.
“We were optimistic she could be treated for cure. We will follow her for five years, but probably the rest of her life just in case, to check it doesn’t crop up anywhere else.”
Derek is hosting a fundraising gig to raise money for Cancer Research UK and the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery unit in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The Sidekicks, Martina and the Oldie Goldies will perform at the Goodyear Social Club on November 2.
Tickets cost £10 and can be bought on Skiddle.
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