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Harriet Trewhitt, a 21-year-old drama student from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, experienced a rare and striking outcome during her cancer treatment. Diagnosed earlier this year with stage two squamous cell carcinoma after discovering a painful ulcer on her tongue, Harriet underwent emergency surgery in May 2025. The treatment involved removing half of her tongue and reconstructing it using skin and blood vessels taken from her arm—skin that notably contained a semicolon tattoo. Reflecting on this, Harriet describes the story as a “good dating anecdote” and shared how she found humor in the unusual circumstances despite the seriousness of her situation.
Initially mistaking the tongue ulcer for a bite sustained during an epileptic seizure, Harriet was surprised by the cancer diagnosis following a biopsy. Faced with the shock, she requested a short delay in treatment to complete her drama course at LMA Drama School, a request the medical team kindly accommodated. In the days leading up to the surgery, extensive scans and tests were conducted to ensure she could safely undergo the complex six-hour operation at University College London Hospital.
The surgery required careful removal of the cancerous tissue and then the reconstruction of Harriet’s tongue using skin from her arm, tattoo and all. “They just pulled the skin from my arm together and then stitched it all up,” she explained. Although the tattoo’s migration to her tongue was unexpected, Harriet embraced the experience with positivity, using humor as a coping mechanism throughout the ordeal. However, complications arose when the reconstructed tongue’s blood vessels failed to connect properly, necessitating emergency surgery to repair the vessels and lymph nodes.
Following successful surgery, Harriet had to relearn essential functions such as speaking and swallowing. She also underwent proton beam therapy at The Christie Hospital in Manchester, a cutting-edge treatment that precisely targets tumours with protons rather than X-rays. Harriet described this therapy vividly, wearing a custom-moulded mask and chest fixture attached to a machine that moved around her during treatment. Despite ongoing challenges such as a lingering lisp and exhaustion, Harriet celebrated reaching milestones—pausing treatment for her graduation, which she described as an emotionally and physically taxing day. Looking ahead, she plans to start a master’s program in drama therapy at Derby University in 2026 and remains grateful for her recovery and continued progress
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