text: A cancer survivor who had to have part of his mouth removed after a tumour stopped him from swallowing has been given a new tongue made out of part of his arm. David Billing, 48, has told how he had to undergo 14 hours of surgery at Royal Derby Hospital, during which surgeons sawed through his jawbone and removed part of his tongue. Medics then replaced the lost tissue with muscle from Mr Billing's arm. The only drawback is that it still has hairs on it, and he now has to return to the hospital every few weeks to have it shaved. David Billing, 48, had to have part of his tongue removed after being diagnosed with mouth cancer, so doctors made him a new one out of skin from his arm - which still has hairs on it . The dramatic story began after Mr Billing, a part-time welder, went to his GP in October 2013 after being unable to swallow. After a second doctor's appointment, he was referred to Royal Derby where specialists discovered an ulcer on the right-hand side of his tongue and confirmed it was cancer after a biopsy. He said: 'Being told I had cancer was mind-blowing and a real low point for me. I had no idea when they found this ulcer in my mouth that this was what it would be.' It was a double-blow for Mr Billing, as he had been made redundant just a week before from his job at digger manufacturer JCB. He said: 'It was all so overwhelming. My life and everything was ticking along nicely and the next thing I knew I'd lost my job and needed to have a major operation.' David had the procedure to remove the lump and rebuild his tongue on November 13, 2013. He said: 'I had to have a stomach tube fitted first and then go through the main procedure. Mr Billing was forced to undergo 14 hours of surgery at Royal Derby Hospital (pictured), with surgeons sawing between two teeth and through his jaw to get to the tumour . 'They had to cut through the jawbone and get my face wide open to get to the ulcer then they had to remove some lymph nodes in my neck too, just to be safe in case the cancer had spread.' David spent nine days in hospital after his operation, returning now only for check-ups and once for the smaller procedure to reshape his tongue. He said: 'Usually, people have to go on chemotherapy or radiotherapy after the operation and, during this, the skin tissue used to rebuild the tongue shrinks in size. 'Because I didn't need either, it meant I later needed this smaller operation to have the bit of skin trimmed. 'My tongue's absolutely fine. I had to have speech therapy after the procedure but it's not had any long term impact on my speech or my eating or drinking.' David continued to use a feeding tube and relied on liquid foods until his first proper meal on Christmas Day 2013. And, in another fortunate turn of events, he was offered his old job a JCB back in March 2014. He added: 'JCB actually took me back having originally laid me off because of a lack of work. Mr Billing, who is now preparing to run the London Marathon to raise money for Cancer Research, says his speech is back to normal - though he does have to go to hospital to have his tongue shaved . 'It was the best feeling in the world when, two weeks after coming through the operation, the consultant told me the cancer was completely removed and I didn't even need radiotherapy or chemotherapy.' Now David is preparing to run the London Marathon and is hoping to raise more than £3,000 for cancer research. He said: 'I was not fit or well at all when I was watching the London Marathon last year but I thought how much I'd love to do it. 'I've never done anything like it before so, when I started feeling better, I decided to start training and now I'm about to take part in this experience of a lifetime. 'If I can get over the finish line, whatever time I do it in, it will be absolutely brilliant.'
target: David Billing, 48, diagnosed with cancer after being left unable to swallow .
  Had 14-hour surgery during which doctors sawed through his jawbone .
  Needed new tongue created from arm skin, which allowed him to talk .
  But skin still has hairs on it, meaning he now needs to shave his mouth .