Peter Young, 67, a Meat Loaf impersonator from Blackpool, has told how he spotted something wrong with his teeth while doing an interview following the death of the rock star
A Meat Loaf impersonator noticed something while watching back a television interview and found out he had stage four mouth cancer.
Peter Young, 67, from Blackpool, only spotted the gap in his teeth when reviewing footage of himself speaking to the BBC following the death of the rock star. He later discovered during a dental check-up that it was a symptom of the cancer.
Diagnosed in December 2022, Peter is now cancer-free and credits the early detection for saving his life. He said: “Had Meat Loaf not died, I don’t think I’d be here any more. I wouldn’t have done the interview, and I wouldn’t have known. The likelihood is, I would have been dead.”
Having performed as Meat Loaf for around 15 years before the star died, Peter acknowledged he didn’t visit the dentist “often enough” and wouldn’t have looked for signs of cancer if he hadn’t seen the change in his teeth. “It’s a bit of a lesson for everyone, that,” he remarked.
Reflecting on his diagnosis, Peter shared: “The guy who diagnosed me suggested I wouldn’t be able to sing again. That kind of broke me a bit, that. I’ve been doing it for 30 years, it was my living. I was about to retire, but I would never retire from singing.”
The singer, who has taken his act around the globe, first realised something was amiss after being invited onto the BBC to discuss the passing of Meat Loaf – real name Marvin Lee Aday – in January 2022. Seven months later, upon noticing a gap in his teeth, Peter decided he wanted implants to rectify the issue.
At that point, he was oblivious to the serious problem lurking beneath. “I decided to go to a dentist in Cyprus whilst I was working there, because it’s a lot cheaper than it is in this country,” he explained. “As it was, the girl who gave me the examination said I had an infection, so I had to go back to my dentist here in Blackpool.”
After returning home, Peter was diagnosed with stage four cancer in his mouth and underwent a gruelling 11-hour operation to remove the cancer, with surgeons using skin from his wrist to patch up his mouth. He was left with just two natural teeth at the back of his mouth for seven months following the operation, which has left him cancer free.
Peter said: “I had the operation and I was off for about 12 months, I had no teeth for seven or eight months, they had to fit implants, because they had to remove all the teeth in the mouth for the operation.” The singer is now back to doing what he loves and has released a new song to commemorate the third anniversary of Meat Loaf’s death, entitled ‘January 20th’.
He is set to perform in Blackpool in July, accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra. “I wasn’t forced to carry on,” Peter said. “I’ll sing ’til I drop, whilst I can still do it I’m gonna still do it. Meat Load’s not the easiest to do, but it seems to be my niche.”
Mouth cancer, also called oral cancer, can affect any part of the mouth, including the gums, tongue, inside the cheeks, or lips, according to the NHS. The risk increases with age and most people are diagnosed between the ages of 66 and 70.
According to Cancer Research UK, the most common symptoms of mouth cancer are:
- ulcers that don’t heal
- a lump in your neck
- pain in your mouth
- red or white patches in your mouth or throat
- a persistent sore throat
- having pain or difficulty swallowing
- speech problems
- weight loss
- bad breath
The charity advises that anyone who notices these symptoms should get them checked by a GP or dentist. However, all of the symptoms can be caused by conditions other than cancer and most people with these symptoms will not have cancer.