Mom’s toothache turns out to be rare lung cancer

By Jack Fifield

A mom of three who thought she simply had a toothache has been given just two years to live after being diagnosed with cancer.

Keshia Liburd, 38, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer back in September 2023.

Now, she is trying to raise $40,000 to get life-saving treatment abroad, with the NHS telling her they’ll offer no more treatment if her latest round of chemo doesn’t work.

In 2023, Keshia went to two different dentists complaining of a severe toothache, but was told that her teeth were in perfect condition.

It was only after the pain became too much that she finally visited A&E where she got an X-ray and was given morphine for the pain.

After being kept in for 16 days, the former smoker was given the shocking news that she had a rare form of stage 3 ‘ALK positive’ lung cancer.

Speaking over messenger due to her condition, Keshia said: “I was in agony for weeks with toothache, I went to the dentist – I paid twice for a private dentist – and I was told there was nothing wrong.

“I got a pain in my chest, had an X-ray, and I was told I have pneumonia at first. Then, 16 days later was told I have cancer.

“I’m going through chemotherapy at the moment. I have eight more sessions left. If this doesn’t work then the NHS will offer me no more treatment.”

After being told the cancer had gone in January 2024, the following April Keisha received the shocking news that the cancer had come back, now stage 4, and had spread to her lungs, liver, and brain.

Cousin Kirsty Watson, 44, who spoke on Keshia’s behalf due to the difficulties speaking caused by her condition, said: “She’s been having chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and she also recently had hammer knife surgery.

“In January 2024, they told her it had gone, but then three months later it was back again in the lungs, liver, and brain.”

She added: “Physically, she’s struggling to get around the house – your breathing impacts everything, whether you can get up and make a cup of tea, what kind of quality time you have with your children.

“It’s impacting everything, really. Her memory has been impacted as well, because of the brain cancer.

“She’s forgetting quite a lot of things, general day-to-day things, which has an impact on the children as well, as they can see that.

“It’s like she’s deteriorated rapidly in front of her children’s eyes.”

Now, Keshia and her family are hoping to raise $40,000 to have advanced treatment which she is unable to get on the NHS: trans-arterial chemoembolisation (TACE), and dendritic cell therapy.

According to Cancer Research UK, TACE is a form of chemotherapy injected directly in to the blood vessel which feeds a tumour to give a stronger dose of the drug, followed by a gel or tiny beads to block the blood supply.

The charity says dendritic cell vaccines are used to help the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells.

NHS England and the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust have been contacted for comment.