A woman who was forced to have a third of her tongue cut out after pain from her braces turned out to be cancer has been left heartbroken as doctors discover a mass in the organ for a second time.

Kimberley Hattersley-Barton, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was first diagnosed with bladder cancer when she was just 13 months old.

Over two decades later, the now 25-year-old has been re-diagnosed several times as doctors find new cancers in her body.

Most recently, they discovered a mass on her tongue, as well as cancer in her thyroid.

“I realised I had a lump at the back of my tongue but didn't think anything of it [at first, because of my braces],” Kimberley said.

“But a few days later, it had changed size and shape so my mum took me to the GP and they referred me to the hospital.

“That is when they told me that I had a malignant tumour.

“I just remember crying straight away and saying that I don’t want it [the cancer] to come back.

“As a baby, I had six months' worth of treatment and was left with multiple life long treatment side effects, including kidney failure, and I didn't want this cancer to leave me with something else.

“I was gutted and so upset.”

Looking at her prognosis, doctors delivered devastating news.

Kimberley would have to undergo radiotherapy for six and a half weeks and then surgery to remove the part of her tongue that was affected.

She said: “They had to remove the back third of my tongue.

“After the surgery, it was a long, hard and tiring time.

“It was a lot to deal with because I had to learn how to speak again, even how to swallow with some of my tongue missing.

“I was very weak after the surgery as well.

“By the end of treatment, I was just completely drained and just really frail.

“I lost so much weight, I couldn't get up by myself, I was living off supplement drinks

“It was really painful – these are harsh memories that I do struggle to look back on.”

Despite the harrowing experience, Kimberley was glad to be in the clear and looking forward to moving on with her life.

Sadly, there was more bad news on the horizon.

The first surgery took place in 2016 but just four years later, the young woman noticed that her tongue was a little more sore than usual.

The cancer was back.

She said: “This time, it was on the middle of my tongue.

“There were no particular lumps or bumps, but it was just more painful than usual.

“But I literally couldn't eat food, not even tomato sauce.

“I was told [by doctors] that there was a new mutation.

“Within weeks, I was booked in for them to take out even more of my tongue.

“I was worried how much more of my tongue they were going to remove and what my speech would be like afterwards.

“At that point, in my mind, I didn't think you could get cancer three times, yeah – maybe twice, but a third time [felt unbelievable].”

“They also did a right side neck dissection, [an operation to remove lymph nodes] to make sure the cancer hadn't spread further.

“Because of that, I now have a U-shape scar, like a smile, across my neck.

“But I was just happy to go home.”

Unfortunately, this was not the end of Kimberley’s nightmare.

In June 2022, something came up on one of her routine follow-up scans, which turned out to be thyroid cancer – but thankfully, it was caught at the earliest stage.

Due to her history, doctors removed the thyroid and suspected lymph nodes as a preventative measure in December that year.

Now, Kimberley is in remission and is just trying to work through each day as normally as possible and is sharing her story to raise awareness.

She added: “It's taken a lot to try and get back to some normality and routine because without a thyroid, I have to take medication to help balance out my hormone levels and metabolism and all that affects my energy levels.

“They want [to make] sure that any remaining cells in there that can't get treated are definitely going to be kept suppressed, basically.

“So I am suffering with fatigue but all in all I have recovered quite well.

“I will live with the side effects of the treatment for the rest of my life, but I am just glad to be thriving after surviving the battles I have overcome.”

Kimberley also shares her journey and spreads awareness on Instagram, (@kimberleys_lifewiththeribbon ), where she has over 500 followers.

As well as her social media, she also has a showcase charity gala coming up on 13 April 2024, at Unity Hall, Wakefield – called the Life With The Ribbon charity gala.

The gala is in support of Macmillan Cancer Support, Starlight Children's Foundation, and Beads of Courage UK, which all supported her throughout her diagnosis's.