A singer whose tongue was rebuilt using tissue from her arm is set to rejoin her choir.
A large section of tongue had to be taken away to deal with a cancerous growth. However, 12 weeks on, choral singer and soloist Marlene Gaunt can not only sing, but can even hit the top notes. Now Mrs Gaunt, who is in her late 60's, is planning to hold a concert for the surgeon whose painstaking work saved not only her voice, but her life.
Mrs Gaunt told BBC New Online that she is making the most of her new lease of life. She said:
"I wasn't afraid when I heard that I had cancer. I had a mastectomy 25 years ago and so I know cancer didn't have to be fatal. When I first spoke after the operation it was such a funny noise, but the swelling has gone down and I am very upbeat about it all. I have got today and I am a great believer in living for today."
Microsurgery
Just before Christmas, Mrs Gaunt noticed what she thought was an ulcer on her tongue. Following a check-up at her dentist, she was sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, at King's Lynn and then referred to Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge.
Mr Leo Cheng, a Maxillofacial Surgeon had to remove a third of Mrs Gaunt's tongue and then rebuild it with tissue, blood vessels and even an artery from her left forearm.
The complicated operation took eight hours to complete and Mrs Gaunt said the ordeal had left her feeling terrible.
She said: "I felt foul after the operation. My face and neck felt as if a 12 tonne weight on it."
But she was full of praise for Mr Cheng, who saved her life.
"The surgeon was a man of great humility. His faith reaffirmed my own."
Mr Cheng said that operations like Mrs Gaunt's were not common but that she nearly recovered 100%.
He said: "She was an extraordinary patient. Physically and spiritually she healed very quickly and she is one of my star patients."
The charity concert by Mrs Gaunt and her choir - the Phoenix Singers - will take place at the Catholic church in Swaffham on June 8th. All the cash raised will be used to raise funds for Mr Cheng's clinic.
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