Tipton woman unable to eat for months after surgery for tonsil cancer opens Cancer Research superstore

Sue Macpherson, 53, cut the ribbon at the official opening ceremony of one of the largest Midlands Cancer Research UK superstores at One Stop shopping centre in Perry Barr on October 6.

Crowds queuing to pick up bargains at the new store cheered as Sue snipped the ribbon after speaking of her battle against the disease, which left her temporarily unable to eat or talk.

Sue said: "I thought I had a really bad bout of tonsillitis because my sore throat just wouldn’t go away.

"I went back and forth to the GP, and I was prescribed antibiotics, but it didn’t really get any better and I started feeling more and more run down.

"I started feeling as if I had a lump in my throat that nothing would clear, but I was told it was viral tonsillitis so that seemed to explain it away."

It was only as Christmas 2015 approached that Sue spotted a couple of visible lumps on her neck. Fearing it was something more serious, she went back to the GP and was referred for further tests.

It was on New Year’s Eve 2015, as she was looking forward to a night out with friends, that Sue got the bombshell results of her CT scan and biopsy. It wasn’t tonsillitis – it was tonsil cancer.

Sue said: "It was such a shock - I just wasn’t prepared for that news.

"How could I go out celebrating New Year when I’d just been told I had cancer? But I turned to my husband and said, ‘I’m going out anyway. I’m not going to let it beat me, I’m going to kick its ass."

Treatment involved radiotherapy wearing a special mask of her face, an experience Sue found very claustrophobic.

The superstore which Sue opened will raise vital funds and has a huge selection of items at discount prices.

All profits raised will go towards funding Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work to help more men, women and children survive the disease.

Sue said: "If it wasn’t for research I wouldn’t be here today, and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to speak at the opening of this store.

"I’m so thrilled to be at the centre of the launch celebrations today for this amazing new superstore. It will raise so much for vital research into cancer and will bring so much good into the community."