Imogen Brooks was 26 when a diagnosis of tongue cancer changed her life. Surgery removed most of her tongue and, after radiotherapy, she found it increasingly difficult to make herself understood: “People looked at me with fear when I spoke to them for the first time, or simply smiled and didn’t respond”.
The solution came in the form of an artificial tongue designed especially for her. After months of testing, a team of eight specialists at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital created a cobalt-chrome and silicone prosthesis tailored to her mouth, and Imogen noticed an improvement in just three days.
Today, at 30, she is cancer-free and says: “People can understand me again”. She speaks with less effort, was able to pass the oral examination for her doctorate, and can now communicate much better with her grandmother. According to the team, it would be the first prosthesis of this kind made and fitted within the NHS (National Health Service of the United Kingdom). ❤️
