Man, 42, shares toothache warning after mouth pain was revealed to be symptom of aggressive cancer
A man is urging people not to ignore even a mild toothache after his tooth pain turned out to be a fast-growing blood cancer.
Edd Vieira, 42, from Northamptonshire, began feeling a dull ache in his left canine while visiting family in Portugal in August 2025.
Within days, all his front and left teeth started aching and wobbling.
‘I thought it was just a cavity and I could get a filling and be done with it,’ Mr Vieira said. ‘I never imagined it could be cancer.’
He visited a local dentist – partly because it was cheaper than in the UK – where a routine X-ray revealed there was no bone on the left side of his upper jaw.
A CT scan uncovered a mass growing in his sinus cavity, spreading under his nose.
Upon returning to the UK, further tests confirmed the devastating diagnosis: stage two diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a fast-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma affecting white blood cells.
X-rays revealed the tumour had ‘eaten’ through his upper jawbone, and the cancer had already started spreading to his neck.
Edd Vieira, 42, is pictured with his wife Mandy Vieira, 44, in Portugal before his diagnosis
Pictured: A CT scan shows the missing bone in his mouth
Mr Vieira said: ‘If I had ignored the toothache, it could have gotten much worse. I might have lost my teeth, and the cancer could have spread further.’
Describing his symptoms, he said: ‘It started as a dull ache in my left canine, then my front and left teeth began to wobble.
‘I couldn’t blow my nose without pain and noticed a small hard lump by my right nostril – I didn’t realise it was connected until after the diagnosis.’
Mr Vieira lives with his wife, Mandy Vieira, 44, who says her husband has always been a ‘picture of fine health’, which made his recent diagnosis even more shocking.
She said: ‘I was in shock, crying my eyes out. Edd stayed positive and just said, “We’ll deal with this.”
‘He’s always been healthy, never had toothaches. It was such a shock.’
He began chemotherapy on December 8, 2025, and is now halfway through his six-round treatment.
This has left him suffering from severe nausea, sleepless nights, headaches, stomach pain, breathlessness, a weakened immune system and extreme fatigue, which means some days he can barely walk around the block.
The couple have also been dealing with the stress of hospital appointments, lost income and everyday bills, Ms Vieira shared on their GoFundMe page.
‘It’s overwhelming when all you should be focusing on is recovery,’ she said.
DLBCL affects around 5,000 people in the UK each year and is more common in men.
While treatment offers hope for remission, it can be aggressive.
‘Don’t ever ignore a toothache, no matter how small,’ Mr Vieira warned. ‘You never know what’s hiding behind it.’
