I just thought I had ‘extreme ear ache’ and a sore throat – the reality was much worse
FOR dad Richard Andrews, life seemed perfect.
Happily married, three children and a fabulous little dog, the 56-year-old had it all.
But after experiencing some ear nose and throat symptoms, Richard was diagnosed with stage two laryngeal cancer, with surgery leaving him unable to speak for months.
In the UK, there are more than 2,000 new cases of laryngeal cancer, also known as throat cancer, each year.
It's more common in men and those over the age of 60.
In December 2017, Richard started to have some issues with his voice.
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Initially, he just thought it was down to a 'savage sore throat and extreme ear ache'.
Richard, who lives in Hereford, said he would sound squeaky or even hoarse towards the end of the day.
"Having suffered from this in 2012, I believed it to be polyps on my vocal chords.
"So I went to see my GP who referred me to Hereford ENT for the lovely scope up the nose", he wrote on his .
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His swallowing gradually got worse, until Richard was only eating liquid foods and special shakes.
After undergoing a biopsy, Richard was told he had a malignant tumour on his vocal chord.
He then underwent 30 sessions of radiotherapy, which led to him losing three stone.
The former sales and marketing worker was given the all clear in January 2019, but he soon started to suffer from shortness of breath and ear ache.
The cancer had returned and in July 2019 and Richard had to have surgery to remove his voice box and lymph nodes.
This meant he was left with a hole in his throat.
"My mouth is no longer used for breathing, and my nose doesn't work at all except for holding my glasses on my face.
What is laryngeal cancer and what are the signs you need to know
Laryngeal cancer is also known as throat cancer and affects the voice box (larynx).
It plays an important role in helping you breath and speak.
The main symptom of the illness is having a hoarse voice for more than three weeks.
Other key signs are:
- a change in your voice
- pain when swallowing
- lump or swelling in your neck
- long lasting cough or breathlessness
- sore throat
- ear ache
- high pitched wheezing noise.
The NHS says that in some severe cases you might also experience difficulty breathing.
Other associated signs include:
- bad breath
- unintentional weight loss
- fatigue
"The biggest effect was on the family as I couldn't talk for four months, which was extremely frustrating.
"I lost a further three stone and was very weak so the training started again to rebuild the lost strength", he told the .
Now, months on from his surgery, Richard is completing a triathlon, after already completing a half marathon.
He said he is unaware of any other laryngectomy patient doing one.
If that wasn't enough, Richard said he decided to go one step further and complete a half iron man, which is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile cycle and a 13.1 mile run.
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He said that over the last three years, his family have been the reason he has survived and he also praised the various medical teams that have helped him along the way.
Richard has charted his journey on his and his first sporting event is on May 8 in Harrogate.
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