Grandad’s warning over risks of smoking
GRANDAD INSPIRES FAMILY TO KICK THE HABIT AFTER BRAVE CANCER BATTLE
HENRY Pridding started smoking when he was 12 years old - but it wasn’t until half a century later that the devastating effects caught up with him.
The grandad found he was struggling to eat because of what he thought was a ‘mouth ulcer.’
It turned out to be tongue cancer.
“I’m proof of what can happen,” he says now.
It was in October 2016 when Henry, 66, underwent surgery to remove most of his tongue and around ten of his teeth.
Surgeons at Manchester Royal Infirmary spent more than 14 hours removing his tumour and using skin from his leg to create a new artificial tongue.
Following his surgery, Henry spent several weeks recovering in hospital being fed through a tube. He lost around four stone in weight.
Since then, Henry has suffered a number of infections in his mouth and needed a metal plate fitted in his jaw.
For the last six months he has worn a temporary brace to keep his jaw in place.
The grandfather-of-12, from Clayton, admits that nicotine had a hold on him. He would use Golden Virginia tobacco to roll his own cigarettes each day, for 50 years.
In the minutes before his lifesaving surgery, he smoked one last roll-up.
It was the last time Henry would ever take a drag on a fag, and he’s proud to say he has never smoked since.
Henry’s cancer scare came just a few years after his wife Tina was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Now the couple are urging other smokers to kick the habit.
“Smoking has devastated our family, that’s why we all stopped smoking,” Henry says.
“We want to share our story in the hope that it will help other people stop – like we wish we had done before cancer struck.
“If you make one New Year’s resolution, make it to quit smoking. It might not be easy, but it’s worth it. We did it, you can too.”
It was back in 2016 when Henry took himself to his local GP because of a mouth ulcer. Further investigations revealed the sore was in fact tongue cancer.
“You never think anything is going to happen,” he says.
“I started smoking when I was 12, then one day I was having trouble eating because there was something on my tongue.
“I just thought it was like a mouth ulcer or something like that. Of all places, they found cancer on the tongue.
“Most people say this won’t happen to me. I said that but look at me. I’m proof of what can happen.”
Henry had surgery to remove the cancer and most of his tongue – a procedure which has affected his speech.
Tina, 57, says she found it was harder to quit after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012.
“One day I got up and I could hardly breathe. I knew what was causing it. I got lung cancer in my left lung. I had chemotherapy and it went away. I was very lucky.”
Though she struggled, after several attempts, Tina has beaten the habit, along with their daughter, Vikki.
With tears in her eyes, Henry’s daughter Vikki explains the impact of her dad’s cancer.
“Seeing what he’s gone through - he went down to eight stone,” she says.
“He was giving up on himself. “That’s the biggest wake up call that I think anyone would need, really. It genuinely has made me quit smoking.”
For more information, visit YouCanGM.org or call the GM Stop Smoking Helpline, on 0300 123 1044