Former Dublin GAA player David Hickey has urged people to go to their dentist and get checked if they think they might have oral cancer. 

Every year in Ireland, roughly 42,000 people are diagnosed with some type of cancer. 

It is a phenomenon Dr Hickey, who once worked as a transplant specialist, is intimately acquainted with - having survived sinus cancer two decades ago. 

In 2018, he noticed something felt not quite right inside his mouth. 

“I had an ulcer on my tongue that wasn’t healing,” he explained to The Pat Kenny Show. 

“My brother’s a dentist and was always telling me to wash my teeth vigorously.” 

Get tested

The ulcer was there for six months before he decided that something had to be done about it and his brother suggested a biopsy. 

The results came back - Dr Hickey had oral cancer. 

“Then I was on the one way train to surgery and here I am today,” he said. 

Looking back, Dr Hickey described the cancer as “tiny” - no bigger than five millimetres. 

“It was barely noticeable, you wouldn’t see it,” he said. 

What he did notice was bleeding in his mouth - something that happens to many people when they brush vigorously. 

For those for whom that is unusual, Dr Hickey has this advice. 

“If it persists, I would urge people - go to your dentist,” he said. 

“They are well attuned to what the next steps are.” 

Lifestyle choices

Like with many other forms of cancer, people can make changes to their lifestyle to reduce their risk of getting cancer. 

“It’s generally a disease that we see in people who are over 55,” Dr Hickey said. 

“Smoking, drinking, doing all the things that are nice in life - none of which I did, by the way.” 

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Main image: Dr David Hickey in Beaumont Hospital. Picture by: RollingNews.ie