Cup of tea saved dad's life as it meant doctors found cancer

Cup of tea saved dad's life as it meant doctors found cancer Colin Hogdkinson weas diagnosed after having to be rushed to hospital A woman says choking on a cup of tea may have saved her dad's life after the coughing fit revealed he had cancer. C onnie Hodgkinson said her dad Colin Hodgkinson has had throat issues and had been struggling to swallow since 2025, with doctors unsure what the underlying issue was and prescribing antibiotics. The issue seemed to have come to a head in December when the 66-year-old dad-of-eight was hospitalised with pneumonia, before returning home. Colin, who was still struggling with throat issues, accepted a cup of tea while visiting Connie on July 5 and started choking on it. To avoid making a mess and spitting the liquid onto the floor, Colin rushed into the kitchen and suddenly passed out, splitting his head open on a radiator as he crumpled to the floor. Retirement village duty manager Connie rushed into the kitchen to help him, before he eventually came round and was taken to hospital to get his head stitched. There, tests revealed he had a form of throat cancer called oropharyngeal carcinoma. Colin's family is unsure how advanced Colin's cancer is but have set up a fundraiser to go on holiday together before he starts treatment. Connie, from Blacon, Cheshire, said: "I've never ever witnessed anything like that in my life, it was horrible, I just can't even explain it. He's been having problems with his throat and swallowing for well over a year now and he had been going to the doctors. "They were just giving him antibiotics and cream because he had got ulcers on his tongue, which was affecting his speech and they kept just giving him antibiotics. They were unsure [what is was]. I'd been asking them for about a year to transfer him to the SALT [Speech and Language Therapy] team at the hospital to find out why he's not swallowing properly. He's lost loads of weight as well. "It was like it [food and drink] was getting stuck when he was eating and drinking." Connie said the 'horrible' incident at the beginning of July finally gave the family answers as to what has been plaguing him. Connie said: "He came to mine and my partner asked him if he wanted a beer, he said 'no I'll have a cup of tea'. I made him a cup of tea and it never went down his food pipe, it went into his airway. He started coughing and he was holding it so it didn't come out on the floor. "He walked from my living room to the kitchen and when he got in the kitchen he passed out and he hit the radiator and split his head open. My dad can't remember falling, all he can remember is waking up to me screaming saying 'Dad'. It was horrible. "With him falling I thought I had lost my dad then. We took him to the hospital to get it stitched. The SALT team got involved while he was in the hospital because they noticed that he was struggling to swallow and he was choking on everything. "Then they've seen on the scan that there was a lump there so they've done a biopsy and an MRI and he's got a big mass on his neck and one on his throat." Connie has set up a fundraiser to take her dad away to Cornwall when he feels well enough. You can donate to Colin's fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/colin-hodgkinson Connie is urging others to push for answers if they feel there's something wrong with their health. Connie said: "We've never all had a family holiday together so our aim is to try and get him on this holiday before the chemo absolutely wipes him out. "It's [the choking incident] is a blessing in disguise, it might have saved his life. I'm quite annoyed at the doctors that they haven't picked up on this sooner because I've been telling them to refer him to the SALT team. "[My advice is] if something's not right just keep pushing for answers." A spokesperson for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside said: "We are sorry to hear about Mr Hodgkinson’s experience and diagnosis. "We welcome feedback from our patients, but for reasons of confidentiality, we cannot comment on individual cases. If a patient is unhappy with the care they have received, we would encourage them to raise these concerns directly with their GP practice or by contacting NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s complaints team."