'I bit my tongue when I sneezed and it ended up saving my life'

A man who bit his tongue when he sneezed said it saved his life after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Dan Durant, 26, noticed he had an ulcer on his tongue last year bit initially dismissed it. However after he sneezed and accidently bit it, the lump became inflamed and he visitied a doctor.

After being checked over he was eventually diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer. Dan underwent an 11-hour surgery to remove the cancer where half of his tongue was removed as well as a cancerous lymph nodes from his neck.

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Dan's tongue was then reconstructed using skin from his forearm. He is now awaiting biopsy results to determine if further treatment is necessary.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Dan said: "I sneezed really hard and ended up biting my tongue."

"It went really inflamed."

"I was directed to Stoke Hospital and told it was cancer and it was aggressive."

"I had around 50 per cent of my tongue removed and reconstructed. The nurse said 'you were lucky you bit your tongue'."

Despite frequently getting ulcers, Dan hadn't been alarmed by the initial appearance of the lump.

He initially dismissed the ulcer in his mouth, treating it with Bonjela and not giving it much thought. He also experienced significant weight loss and frequent sore throats but didn't suspect anything serious.

Dan recalled: "It was a grey, whitish patch. It was the size of a one pence coin. I didn't think of it after that. Mostly it just felt like it wasn't there."

However, by April 2024, the ulcer caught his attention again, and in August, it became inflamed when he accidentally bit it. His GP referred him to Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent due to suspicions of cancer.

A week later, on August 21,