A CANCER patient who endured one of the longest operations in a hospital's history has been given the all-clear.

Mother-of-one Trish Morgan spent a 16 hours under the surgeon's knife as eight different consultants worked on the operation, which involved rebuilding her throat.

The 35-year-old non-smoker was diagnosed with oral cancer in April after discovering a lump in her neck. She underwent surgery in May at Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Specialists told Ms Morgan, of Hall Farm, Sunderland, there was a less than 50 per cent chance of successfully removing the cancerous cells.

But yesterday she was given the all-clear.

Ms Morgan, who has a 13-year-old daughter, Adele, discovered a lump in her neck in September last year, but put it down to a swollen gland before finally going to her GP in March this year.

She said: "Even if you think it's nothing, it's so important to get it checked out. I left my lump for months thinking it was nothing serious and it nearly cost me my life."