Abscess that turned out to be deadly mouth cancer

BACK in February, 60-year-old plumber Roger Mayman noticed what he thought was an abscess on his jaw, so he called his dentist.

After a few initial check-ups and scans, his follow-up appointments were cancelled due to the pandemic.

Last month he was told he had advanced mouth cancer, with between six and eight weeks left to live, and tragically he died a week ago.

Following the temporary closure of his dental practice, Mr Mayman, of Blackpool, managed his symptoms with painkillers.

However after the lump grew, he managed to see his dentist in June, only to be told that doctors ‘weren’t performing any surgery’.

Finally in September he was admitted to Royal Preston Hospital for the removal of what was thought to be a cyst – only for tests to reveal the truth that it was a fastgrowing, aggressive tumour.

‘It’s inoperable and completely embedded in my jaw,’ he said, speaking shortly before his death.

‘If this hadn’t happened during Covid I might be okay now. Those appointments would’ve been on time, the normal processes would have been followed and I could be looking forward to 2021.

‘This pandemic is bad enough without more people dying as a result of missed appointments for health problems unrelated to coronavirus.’

Mr Mayman’s brother, Adrian, 62, said he had complained over the summer that he was ‘being pushed from pillar to post to get it sorted, but nobody seemed to want to help him out’.

‘How on earth could this have happened?’ the convenience store owner said yesterday.

‘He’d had this lump for months. If it hadn’t been for Covid, he’d have been diagnosed ages ago. I’m really worried this will happen all over again. People won’t want to bother their doctor with minor symptoms. But you’re not a doctor, so get checked out!

‘Enough people are dying from Covid itself, don’t let the lockdown itself kill you like it did my brother.’