Mrs Hicks is taking painkillers and is unable to eat solid food

Nan Hicks, 74, from Ystalyfera in the Swansea Valley, is unable to eat any solid food because the abscess in her mouth has grown so large.

The planned surgery was twice cancelled after she had spent a night in pre-op at Swansea's Morriston Hospital.

Swansea NHS Trust said it hoped to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Mrs Hicks was diagnosed with the cancerous tumour in December and was scheduled to have it removed early this month.

But a week before the surgery scheduled for 6 February she had a phone call to say it had been cancelled. A second date, Monday 14 February, was arranged.

Mrs Hicks went in to Morriston Hospital the night before, but on the morning of the planned seven-hour operation she was told that, again, no intensive care bed was available.

She had to pack her bags and go home.

Exactly the same happened the following Sunday and Monday, with the lack of beds once more cited as the reason.

Tumour is growing

She has since been told to go in this Sunday (27 February) with the op planned for Monday but there is no guarantee it will go ahead.

In the meantime, Mrs Hicks said the uncomfortable lump in her mouth is growing bigger by the day.

She is taking painkillers and is unable to put in her false teeth and as a result cannot eat any solid food.

"I'm very upset, because when you go in you expect to have the operation the next day," she said.

"I am worried. I want to get it over and done with because I want to get better."

Her husband, Brin, said: "Nan is very positive but she is getting depressed now and she is losing weight because this thing is growing in her mouth.

"I go to bed now on a Sunday night and I hardly sleep because this thing goes through my mind - are we going to have a bed tomorrow morning - and it's very upsetting."

Swansea NHS Trust has apologised for the cancellations and said it was taking the issue seriously and was hoping to resolve it as soon as possible.