A woman was left devastated when a routine visit to the dentist saw her diagnosed with cancer – with doctors forced to cut out half her tongue to save her life.

When Elizabeth Brown Lax, who goes by Elly, went to see her oral surgeon, she didn’t think much of it at first.

The 45-year-old regularly got check-ups, having suffered from lichen planus for nearly 20 years – a condition that affects various areas of the body including the mouth, and presents as white patches, swelling, and painful sores.

But she had no idea what would follow.

“My oral surgeon was checking my tongue as usual and felt a lump,” Elly, from Henderson, Nevada, US, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.

“He actually said: ‘I don’t like the look of that’ – which is not exactly what you want to hear from your oral surgeon, but my lichen planus had been getting worse for years.

“He took a biopsy and it came back positive for cancer; squamous cell carcinoma.

“No one can fully prepare you for being told you have cancer.

“For about a week, I couldn’t eat, sleep or concentrate.

“I remember going to my regular hairdresser appointment and just being on the edge of tears, scared that all my hair was going to fall out anyway [even though I’d not had chemotherapy yet].”

The diagnosis was given in 2017, with Elly just 39 years old at the time, working as a model, singer, and on-camera host, “literally living my dream”.

Finding out she had cancer was horrifying but the nightmare was far from over – as she was told she would need to have a large chunk of her tongue removed.

Doctors took scans, which revealed the cancer was stage one, and so they went to remove the lump in a minor procedure – but were unable to follow up with radiotherapy due to the lichen planus.

Sadly, a year later, the cancer returned.

Elly said: “I started having ear pain so I went to the doctor, they scanned me and said I was fine.

“However, the pain soon became unbearable.

“I went back and demanded to be re-scanned and re-biopsied, and that’s when it turned out that the cancer had returned, and it was stage 3.

“I remember when my surgeons told me what they would have to do to my body to save me.

“They said I needed a hemiglossectomy – getting half of my tongue removed – and a mandibulectomy, replacing my jaw bone with bone from my leg.

“I’d also need a tracheostomy so I could breathe in the hospital and a feeding tube for five months.

“And I’d have a big scar running from my lip, down my chin, and around my jaw.

“I remember taking the news very steadily but my doctors were incredible.

“They calmly told me about every step and answered all of my questions.

“I knew then that my life would never be the same after that surgery.

“But I also felt very hopeful.

“It’s hard to explain but something was over my shoulder telling me to stay calm, and that everything would be ok.”

Doctors also planned to use tissue from Elly’s leg to rebuild her tongue and jaw flap, and she would need to use a wheelchair while re-learning to walk.

Additionally, she would need to undergo physiotherapy to relearn how to chew, swallow, walk, and speak.

In May 2018, at just 40 years old, Elly had a 12-hour-long surgery.

While she was devastated, she says doctors did “an amazing job”, though they had been forced to remove four of her teeth too.

She said: “My mouth, the scar, the tongue flap – it’s all gorgeous.

“My plastic surgeon and her team were very compassionate and did their best to preserve the natural shape of my face.

“Not an easy task!

“After removing the tumour, they got the tissue they needed from my leg and reconstructed my face.

“I was in the hospital recovering for about nine days, with drains all over my body that came out over time.”

And finally, a few days after surgery, she finally got to take a look in the mirror.

She said: “My appearance in the hospital was shocking, that’s for sure.

“I didn’t look in a mirror the first few days.

“When I finally did, I remember being impressed by all they had done to save my life.

“The left side of my face was as big as a volleyball.

“The stitches were fresh and deep.

“No one wants to look in the mirror and see so much physical trauma, but I knew how fortunate I was to be alive.”

Months of recovery followed, alongside chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

She said: “I had to take everything a day at a time.

“The feeding tube was rough and getting sick from chemo was awful.

“But friends and family came out to be with me and we made the best of it.

“My family did everything they could to help me, including wheeling me to the dog park in my wheelchair so that I could play with dogs.”

In 2020, Elly also had surgery to treat the scar on her face.

She now has a scan every year to check that she is oral-cancer free and the scans have been clear since.

In the years since her diagnosis, Elly has also found a new career path, as vice president of production at Network Media.

She added: “Thankfully, I have been oral cancer-free ever since my aggressive treatment five years ago.

“These days, I’m feeling wonderful and full of gratitude.

“I’m healthy and I can do everything I couldn’t do during my treatment: breathe on my own, walk and exercise, chew and swallow, speak and sing.

“It is also my deepest hope that anyone who hears my story will help spread the word about these types of cancers, and encourage their friends and family to get early treatment for any strange symptoms.”

ENDS