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A Swaffham soprano who had part of her tongue reconstructed
after surgery, will be among singers raising money for the Facial Surgery
Research Foundation, Saving Faces, this month.
Marlene Gaunt, who made an amazing return to singing four months after surgery
for cancer, will join fellow members of the Phoenix Singers for the Lynn
Soroptimists' concert. Springwood High School Concert Band and Lynn's Male
Voice Choir will also be raising the rafters at Springwood High School,
Queensway, Lynn, next Saturday. The singers will be performing a varied mix of
popular classics, along with a couple of show tunes and spiritual songs, and
the choir and Phoenix Singers will be joining voices for at least one number.
Mrs Gaunt, who has helped found a support group, About Face, for others
undergoing oral surgery had part of her tongue removed in January 2001 after
being diagnosed with mouth cancer. Using a skin graft from her left arm,
surgeon Leo Cheng and his team then reconstructed the tongue during the 12 hour
operation at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge.
Both Mr Cheng and Mrs Gaunt will be speakers at the fundraising Brave Faces
Study Day also held at the school between 10am and 4pm on the day of the
concert. Mr Cheng will be talking about facial surgery, while Mrs gaunt and Ann
Johnston, who suffered cancer of the jaw, will be discussing their experiences
of fighting cancer.
Fellow surgeon and chief executive of Saving Faces, Iain Hutchison, will also
give a talk on the charity and there will be additional speakers on speech
therapy, dietary needs and problems and post-operative hygiene. The foundation
was formed by Mr Hutchison to research the causes and treatment of diseases,
injury and deformity affecting the face and mouth. Launched in June 2000 at the
National Portrait Gallery in London, the charity has many well-known patrons,
including Claire Rayner, Alan Rickman and John Snow.
But Mrs Gaunt said, despite being the sixth most common cancer worldwide,
facial cancer still had a relatively low profile and many people knew little
about it. She admitted to feeling a little nervous about addressing the study
day but was eager to support the tremendously important work of the foundation.
"This is the only charity of its kind that carries out research. Facial cancer
is very difficult to deal with - that the thing people always see. It affects
the basic skills of eating and speaking and you can't enter society without
them. We don't get very much support from the Government at all, so it is down
to others to keep the money for research coming in."
She added her singing had given her the impetus to get better and was looking
forward to performing. The concert starts at 7pm and tickets, including
refreshments, are £6 on the door. Study day tickets are £10 and include lunch
and are available on 01553 765939.
Further information on the concert and study day can be found at
www.savingfaces.co.uk and the About Face support group website is at
www.omfsaboutface.org.uk
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