hi,i am just 63 & have cancer on my voicebox. nearly three years ago i went to e n t & was told i had stage two cancer of my superglottis & had 29 shots of radiotherapy with a view of a curative effect. i finished radiotherapy november 2008. i have been attending e n t clinic every month since. i have told the doctors i suffer badly from acid reflux, also i dont eat much but have put on one & a half stone. i was sent for my third biopsy last november as the doctor said it looked granulated/ one week after the biopsy my voice went. i could only whisper and could not use the telephone as nobody could hear me. last week i saw a differant consultant who put the camera down into my voicebox and told me i need an urgent biopsy,he shown me the photo he had taken of my voicebox where there was thick white on each side. funnily enough my voice has returned to almost normal, just a bit husky like i have a sore throat .obviously i am terrified of losing my voicebox, plus a stoma & a feeding tube a peg? please if you could tell me how you went on ,please dont pull no punches ,i need to know. even though i am 63 i am young at heart & recently got married for the first time. we were planning going on a safari anytime now but that is on hold until i have the biopsy. i know my luck , it will be the worst news. thankyou for reading this, i did not mean to write such a long email yours sincerlychristine
I had the same as you . just before christmas 2005 I had a sore throat, I went to the doctors he said I had a sore larynx , I had it all over christmas for 3 months, I went to the chemist and he said go back to the doctor and ask to be refered to a specialist,
Then when was it all started, I had a small lump on one of my vocal cords, I went in for byeopsy they took a piece for testing then I was told it was cancer, they asked all the questions do I smoke no do I drink alot no, they said it was probible passive smoking that has caused it, then I had radiotheropy for 6 weeks that made me feel tired, I desided to take early retirment at the age of 64, I went into hospital to have the cancer removed everything was great then I went for a scan and found that it had gone onto the other side, after seeing the specialist he said it was also cancer, he then said that the best option was to have it removed.
He said that I would need to have my voice box removed as it was the best option that it would not come back, I decided that I would have it done after a lot of thought I was told that the operation would take 5 hours I was sent someone who have had it done and seeing him made it look not as bad as thought.
I will stop there, but if you would like to hear more I will look out for your reply
I'm just a couple of days away from the biopsy on the expected cancer on my voicebox. It's only on one side but the specialist who filmed it ( camera up nose ) showed the film to me and said she was certain the white length down one side, was cancer. Obviously dont know what's happenning yet, but if I loose my voice?... I'm just happy it isnt my sight as Im a great reader. At 74, it's the first truly nasty thing to happen to me medically. So I'm very lucky. And planning to stay that way !!!!
The camera down the nose wasnt painful. I kept my eyes closed and went ugh but not ouch. The specialist asked me to go eeeeee a couple of times, then after the camera was removed ( another ugh not an ouch ) she showed me the full film of what the camera had shown. Another woman there said she would be seeing me after the biopsy to hear what type of therapy I'd need.
My voice has already changed drastically ( which is why I originally went to Drs ) so its not going to be a problem for me. as I already text much more than phoning people.
Will keep you up to date after the biopsy. ( only day surgery )
