An Abbey Wood mum-of-four has described how breaking a tooth on her son's juice bottle led to the devastating discovery she had mouth cancer and was weeks away from death.

Lisa Epsom’s dentist discovered a tumour which was so advanced she ended up losing half her face.

It took a 14-hour operation to remove the growth and she is still feeling "disfigured".

The 34-year-old, of Church Manor Way, Abbey Wood, said: "That Fruit Shoot bottle saved my life. 

"Had I not opened it with my teeth, I would not be here.

"I've lost my looks and feel disfigured. 

"People stare at me in the street but I'm alive and I can watch my kids grow up, so it's a small price to pay."

The drama began for Ms Epsom in September 2013 when she helped open a juice bottle for her six-year-old son Maison.

When the dentist examined her teeth, he noticed a red patch on the roof of her mouth and gave her a mirror to look at it.

She said: "Alarm bells began ringing in my head. I'd spotted it about a year before but a GP said it was nothing to worry about. 

"Now I could see it was bigger, about the size of a 5p coin with veins coming out of it."

The following week she went to hospital for a biopsy and just days later was told the heartbreaking result.

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Lisa Epsom with six-year-old son Mason

She said: "A consultant said I could be dead within weeks.

"One even joked chipping my tooth wasn't so unlucky after all."

She was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the hard palate, a rare form of mouth cancer with a golf ball sized tumour under her nose and cheek. 

Surgeons operated two weeks later.

She said: "I kissed the kids goodbye with tears in my eyes.

"I studied their gorgeous faces and made Mum promise to be there for them if anything happened to me."

During the operation surgeons removed most of her cheekbone and palate, then used tissue from her thigh to rebuild her face.

Ms Epsom said: "I gasped and broke down in tears when I saw - I thought I looked like a monster.

"I can't pretend it didn't bother me, but if I had to choose between my looks and watching my kids grow up there really is no contest."

The mum-of-four also lost 4st, shrinking from a size 12 to a size 4 and ended up being tube-fed but last July, scans showed she was cancer-free.

She said: "My confidence has gone but it's a small price to pay. 

"I also know it's vital to visit the dentist regularly. Mine saved my life."

Ms Epsom's family is fundraising for her to go on holiday with her children to help with her recovery. Visit photo-features.co.uk to donate.