A MALVERN man who was given six months to live after being diagnosed with throat and tongue cancer has spoken out to raise awareness of the condition during Mouth Awareness Week this week.

Tony Baker was diagnosed with oral cancer at the base of the tongue in 1999 and underwent a 10-hour operation to save his life, followed by more surgery to reconstruct his mouth and restore his speech, and then seven weeks of radiotherapy.

But in April 2002 it was discovered that the tumour had returned.

The 53-year-old father-of-two was told unless he had everything removed he would have six months to live.

Since undergoing radical surgery he has been left with speech and swallowing problems but is now in remission.

He runs his own business and is also chairman of the Malvern local committee for Cancer Research UK.

Tony said he was worried about how his business clients would react to his speech difficulties, but everyone had been very friendly.

"With the benefit of hindsight, I wouldn't have been a smoker," he said.

"I hadn't been a heavy smoker, about 20 a day, but it was enough to cause a problem."

The major risk factors for contracting mouth cancer are smoking or chewing tobacco and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol - together they are estimated to cause more than 75 per cent of mouth cancer cases.

Cancer Research UK is today launching its new three-year Open Up To Mouth Cancer campaign, aiming to raise awareness of the early signs and risk factors for mouth cancer.

The most common signs of mouth cancer are sores, ulcers, red or white patches and unexplained pain in the mouth or ear. Less common signs include a lump in the neck, a persistent sore throat or difficulty swallowing.

If any of these signs persists for more than three weeks they need to be checked out by a doctor or dentist.