A man from Blackpool, who was diagnosed with mouth cancer, has shared an unusual warning sign in his teeth that everyone should be aware of.
Peter Young, a tribute artist for Meat Loaf, believes that, in a way, the ‘Bat Out of Hell’ legend helped save his life from beyond the grave.
The iconic American singer, born Marvin Lee Aday, passed away on January 20, 2022, at the age of 74, but no official cause of death was ever publicly disclosed.
Peter, 67, was asked to honor him on the BBC, and after reviewing some interview footage, he noticed an unexpected gap in his teeth.
He shared: “I wouldn’t have checked, I never went to the dentist often enough. It’s a bit of a lesson for everyone, that.”
“I saw the video later on the news, and because I was getting old I’d lost a few teeth over the years, and there was a gap at the bottom of my mouth, I didn’t think anyone could see it.”
Seven months later, while performing internationally, the singer went to a dentist in Cyprus for implants. However, upon returning home, he received a shocking diagnosis of stage four mouth cancer in December 2022.
Peter shared, “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.”
The doctor who discovered Peter’s condition warned him he wouldn’t be able to sing again, which devastated him deeply.
“I’ve been doing it for 30 years, it was my living. I was about to retire, but I would never retire from singing,” he said.
Peter shared that he was off work for “about 12 months” after undergoing an intense 11-hour surgery to remove his cancer. During that time, he was left without 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,” he explained.
Now, with implants replacing all of his teeth, Peter is fortunately back to singing and has successfully beaten cancer.
In honor of Meat Loaf’s third death anniversary, the tribute act has launched a new song titled January 20th.
Peter added: “I need to pay my bills that have mounted up during lockdown and Covid and everything else.
“I wasn’t forced to carry on. I’ll sing ‘til I drop, whilst I can still do it I’m gonna still do it.
“Meat Loaf’s not the easiest to do, but it seems to be my niche.”
