Gary Rasmussen from Dartford had mouth cancer undiagnosed for eight months

A man won a six-figure payout after his mouth cancer went undetected for eight months despite several trips to three dentists.

Gary Rasmussen, 66, has spoken out as part of Mouth Cancer Action Month, to tell his story of how a missed diagnosis led to him requiring 14 hours of surgery and six weeks of chemo-radiotherapy.

While the former butler has now recovered, the delay in treatment led to lawyers winning him a six-figure settlement - and Gary is calling on health professionals to be more vigilant.

Gary was 61-years-old in 2013 when he discovered a lesion inside his mouth which continued to get larger and more painful, leading him to seek medical advice several times.

His disease was not diagnosed until he insisted that a biopsy was carried out - which revealed he had an aggressive malignant tumour.

Along with the surgery and chemo-radiotherapy, Gary also required bone reconstruction and skin grafts from his wrist and abdomen to repair scar tissue.

Emma Wagstaff, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham office representing Gary, said: “As with all forms of the disease, early detection is key to beating mouth cancer.

"The fact that Gary’s condition was not diagnosed for in excess of eight months is extremely worrying.”

"I had 14 hours of surgery, which included the removal of the tumour, part of my jaw and five teeth..." - Gary Rasmussen

In April 2013, Gary was initially advised the lesion was an ulcer caused by cheek biting which would heal with the use of pain relief mouth gel.

After there was no improvement, another dentist at the same practice suggested the issue may have been caused by his wisdom teeth.

He had his upper right wisdom tooth removed in August, and then with the lesion continuing to grow - had his lower right wisdom tooth extracted.

It was only after he insisted on being referred for a biopsy in November 2013 that it was confirmed he had mouth cancer.

Gary said: “While I feel lucky to be alive, everything I have been through has had a far reaching and lasting impact.

"I had 14 hours of surgery, which included the removal of the tumour, part of my jaw and five teeth.

"I also had six weeks of chemo-radiotherapy which was absolute hell, as I was in pain, suffered vomiting and sores in my mouth. My weight plummeted to eight stones.”