When 67-year-old Peter Young was interviewed by his local BBC news station, he was excited to see himself on the TV.
However, little did he know that the conversation would change his life.
Peter, from Blackpool, is a professional tribute artist for the late American rockstar Meat Loaf.
For the past two decades, he has made a living dressing up and performing the singer’s hits such as I’d Do Anything for Love.
So, when Meat Loaf – real name Michael Lee Aday – died in January 2021, BBC Look North reached out to Peter to get his reaction.
‘I was honoured to be asked,’ says Peter. ‘I did the interview by Zoom and then nothing else about it.
‘But, later that day, when I watched myself on TV, I saw a pronounced gap on the bottom row of my teeth that I hadn’t noticed before.’
Peter Young is a Meat Loaf tribute act – and will play his first gig since the diagnosis next year
Peter’s first thought wasn’t for his health, but for his career. ‘I was extremely conscious that if I could see the gap then the audience would too when I performed.
‘However, I was going on holiday to Cyprus so I didn’t have time to see a dentist in the UK. Instead, I saw a dentist while in Cyprus, and asked her if I could have implants to fill the hole.
‘She suggested I wait until I saw my dentist at home, and I’m very thankful that I did.’
Within a week after returning from his holiday, Peter went to a dentist, who was immediately concerned at what she saw.
It wasn’t the gap she was worried about, but the state of Peter’s gums.
‘For a while, the skin around my upper teeth had been a bit loose,’ says Peter. ‘It was a bit tender, but never painful, so I hadn’t thought much of it.
‘But once the dentist saw this she immediately went to get the second opinion of her colleague.
‘They both agreed it could be mouth cancer.’
Every year, around 9,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with mouth cancer. The disease usually occurs in the tonsils, roof of the mouth or tongue.
Cases have risen by more than a third over the past decade. Research suggests this is partly because many Britons struggle to see an NHS dentist. Studies show that just 40 per cent of people have seen a health service dentist in the past two years. A quarter have tried and failed to see one.
A dentist was concerned by his gums and he was referred to hospital. He was later diagnosed with mouth cancer and underwent surgery
Experts say this means the nation’s dental health is in a worse state than a decade ago, raising the risk of infections and inflammation that can trigger cancer.
Worryingly, the number of mouth cancer deaths has risen by 46 per cent over the past decade to more than 3,000, partly due to the early signs of the disease being missed without access to regular appointments.
This was the case for Peter too.
After visiting the dentist, he was referred to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, where a biopsy was carried out and a doctor gave Peter the official diagnosis: Stage 4 mouth cancer, the most advanced stage possible.
The cancer was in the roof of his mouth, leading to the gum issues.
For Peter, the news was a shock.
‘I’d never given mouth cancer any thought,’ he says. ‘No one in my family had suffered with the disease, so I didn’t think it was something I had to worry about.
‘When I asked the doctor if they’d caught it early enough, he simply said “no”.
‘I said I sing for a living, and he said he didn’t think I’d ever be able to do that again. That wrecked me and I just broke down on the spot.’
Peter was taken straight to the operating room where he underwent a near 12-hour procedure to remove the cancer.
The singer noticed he had a gap in his teeth while watching a video of himself
Surgeons then had to painstakingly rebuild his mouth, using skin from his wrist and nerves from his arm.
Thankfully, the surgery was successful. After months of rehabilitation, Peter decided his voice was strong enough to return to the stage.
Peter and his band will take to the stage at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens in May next year for his very first gig with his band since his diagnosis.
‘My voice now is as good as it’s ever been,’ says Peter. ‘The only thing is that I’m now four-and-a-half or five stones lighter’.
Peter has no doubt that his appearance on TV saved him.
‘If it hadn’t been for that tribute interview on January 20, I wouldn’t have noticed the problem with my teeth which led to the shocking diagnosis.
‘Apart from a dull ache and being able to feel a flap of skin on my gum, I didn’t have any major symptoms and didn’t really feel unwell. It was only when I saw myself singing that I realised something was wrong.’
Experts say mouth cancer is often hard to spot at first
‘In most cases the cancer is painless, so patients aren’t aware of a problem,’ says Prof Michaelina Macluskey, a head and neck cancer expert at the University of Dundee’s School of Dentistry.
‘And, often, it’s difficult for patients to fully examine their own mouths as it can develop in hard to see areas.’
For this reason, Prof Macluskey advises people to look out for ulcers that stay for longer than three weeks, white or red patches on the gums or in the mouth, a lump inside the mouth that doesn’t decrease in size and isn’t painful, as well as loose teeth and altered sensation in the gum.
Other signs to look out for include difficulty swallowing, unexplained bleeding, neck lumps, unexplained weight loss, changes in voice quality and limited jaw movement.
Peter says he now encourages everyone he knows to get their mouths checked.
‘I never went to the dentist very much when young and now regret it,’ he says.
‘I only ever went when there was a problem like toothache.’