Steele has urged others to support Stand Up for Cancer, a campaign run by Cancer Research UK, which takes advances from the laboratory and turns them into new tests and treatments.

The campaign has invested in a project at the University of Birmingham to develop a lollipop that could detect oral cancer earlier, without the need for invasive biopsies.

The diagnostic method, developed by Dr. Ruchi Gupta and her team, involves turning a smart hydrogel into flavored lollipops.

Currently, doctors have to cut a small piece of tissue and send it to a laboratory for testing to identify oral cancers.

Steele said the research into the paddles was a “big” step in the right direction.

“The idea that one day you can skip that whole procedure and get a lollipop sucking appointment much quicker is brilliant,” he added.

“I still feel a lot of pain as a result of the treatment, but that is why I am calling on people to join cancer and help support research into kinder, faster and more effective treatments.”