Hi Zarker

I had severe displacia of the vocal chords around 5 years ago and was told that I needed laser treatment immediately as it "was very close to cancer". I had laser treatment a few times and had to have biopsies done around every 2 - 3 months but in my case it had gone too deep so they could only laser the surface and it kept coming back. If you are a smoker you should give it up immediately as my consultant told me to avoid smoke at all costs.

I went on to have larygneal cancer but I was stage T2-3 when I was eventually diagnosed. I was successfully treated with radiotherapy 28 months ago and touch wood everything is fine and my voice is better than it's been for years.

On a positive note they are closely monitoring you and as you are at a very early stage hopefully they will be able to get rid of it with laser treatment alone.

I wish you well and hope that the next laser treatment will be the end of it.

Marion x

Hi Marion ,

Thanks very much for your reply it was most helpful. I hope you don't mind me asking but how long was it from when they found displacia to you being diagnosed with laryngeal cancer? As this is what I think may be happening to me. They said inicially It could be treated with laser alone and after my last laser treatment yesterday that the return was on the surface only and did not warrant rdiotherapy at the moment and he had done deeper biopsys which he says hes sure arn't cancerous. This has as you know been a very difficult time for me as i'm so scared of loosing my voice or having to have a laryngectomy which I've been told is unlikely. i'm reassured to know that after your treatment your voice is now good. Thank you again and I hope you continue to do well. Andy

p,s gave up smoking 5 years ago and after this will never go back to it!

Hi Andy

I hope my reply hasn't made you feel that it is inevitable that it will go on to be cancer as I'm sure that is not the case. I had displacia for around 2-3 years and during that time I had around 9 biopsies to keep checking. It was a bit of a roller coster ride - one visit everything would be fine and then next I'd be rushed in for a biopsy!

Like you, the thought of losing my voicebox fills me with dread. I still worry about it now although as time goes by it gets easier as the risk of a reoccurence lessens with time. I opted for radical radiotherapy - 3 times a day over 2 and a half weeks instead of once a day for 6 weeks. I lost my voice for around 2 months during and after treatment but as I said, when it finally came back it was my "old" voice (having been husky for years).

Like you, I was in the fortunate position of being closely monitored so that when it eventually turned to cancer, they caught it early. I was given a 95% success rate so I am trying to be positive that it won't come back.

Take care and if you have any questions feel free as I usually come on this site a few times a week.

Marion x

Hi Marion,

Thanks for your reply. I have to try and stop worrying I guess there are people in a lot worse position than I am and I am thankful that they have caught it early, I must say I cannot fault the NHS they have been superb don't think I could have got better treatment privately, just hope this lasering will be my last as my throat still feels a bit sore but my voice is coming back,so fingers crossed! Thanks for messaging me its just good to talk to someone who's been through the same thing as friends have been great but don't really fully understand how it feels to be told you have cancer, what ever stage it is. Its been quite devastating for me, but with luck I will get thru this and am trying to keep positive and look forward to a time when I can lay this to rest. Have a great christmas and may your health continue to be good.

Andy x

Hi Andy

I've only just logged in and saw your reply. Just wanted to say I wish you well for the future and hope that the lasering has worked for you and that will be the end of it.

Let's hope 2010 will be a healthy one for everyone!

Love Marion x

Hi Andy, Marion,

Sorry to come in to thread but was wondering of you give me some pointers about your conditions and experiences. I have just had my fourth biopsy taken for dysplasia of the vocal cords and am awaiting the results. The previous 3 have been severe so I am expecting the same or worse. My consultant has talked about Radiotherapy before and it looks like i will be heading in that direction.

When you had your laser/biopsies for the dysplasia did your voice get worse every time. At the moment I can barely talk and this is really getting me down and fustrated. Also how bad is the Radiotherapy. Is it something i shuld dread or is it a comfortable option. Hope you can point me in the right direction.

Chris

Hi Chris

I had very severe dysplacia / borderline laryngeal cancer for around 2-3 years but sometimes at my appointments my larynx looked 'normal' so I was confused about how it could go from severe displacia to normal - so it doesn't always mean that it will definitely turn to cancer.

After the biopsies/laser treatment my voice was worse for a while but got a bit better over time although it was always "husky" at the best of times and sounded like I had a sore throat.

In my case it did turn to cancer and I had radical radiotherapy - 38 treatments, 3 times a day for 2 and a half weeks. It was very unpleasant but something I knew I had to go through to get better. I was terrified of having my voicebox removed and I am so grateful to my consultant for constantly monitoring me.

If you do have to have radiotherapy you will have to have a mask made which fits tightly over your face and shoulders and fixes to the treatment table to keep you perfectly still. Towards the end of the treatment I couldn't swallow at all (not even water ) so I had to go into hospital to be tube fed for 2 weeks. They were going to give me a PEG which is a tube that goes directly into the stomach but I refused it and forced myself to eat even though it was really painful to swallow.

I hope they manage to treat you with lasering alone but if you do have to go down the radiotherapy route, try not to worry as in a way I was relieved that I was getting rid of it once and for all. The weird thing is that my voice is now completely normal - just like it used to be years ago!

On a positive note, if it is cancer then you know they have been monitoring you and it will be caught very early.

I wish you all the very best and please let me know how your results go.

Love Marion x

Sorry I got an error so thought my reply didn't work but I see it did!

Marion

Many thanks for the reply. I will be getting my results next Wednesday and will let you know how I get on. My voice is slightly better today so I suppose it will still be quite swollen after the laser. It is heartening that your voice is normal after laser and Radiotherapy. I have had 4 biopsies in 18months and my voice, I guess, never gets time to recover.

Thanks again,

Chris

HI Chris,

Sorry to hear of your throat problems. Let me explain what happened to me. About 2 years ago I noticed my voice getting hoarse and this lasted about a month so went to the doctor who then referred me to the ENT dept at st Barts hospital in london where I had an endoscopy which didn't really show anything other than a slight soreness and what they thought was a polyp on my left vocal chord. I had some voice therapy and started taking medication for reflux as they thought this might be causing it. After that I had a couple more endoscopys as it wasn't improving and this year they decided to that an operation to remove the polyp was necessary and as a precaution they would send it to the lab to get it checked out, again they weren't expecting to find anything untoward. However when the result came back it was severe dysplasia ( T1 type cancer) This was obviously a great shock to me as I really wasn't expecting it as apart from the hoarse voice I felt completely well. They said it was very early and could be treated with 98 per cent success rate and that it was localised and had not gone anywhere else, which I was relieved about.

I had my first laser treatment about 2 weeks later and he actually lasered away the area of dysplasia and some healthy tissue around it just to make sure it had all gone. After the laser my throat felt sore like having mild tonsilitus and I was hoarse for about 10 days after which my voice came back almost like normal which I was surprised about, it was the first time I could speak properly for about a year, and I could even sing! Everyone noticed how much better it sounded. Just after this I got a call from the consultant to say the biopsys around the affected area were all clear and that they would keep an eye on me but hopefully it was sorted. During this time my voice was pretty good sometimes a little husky at the end of the day but ok. When I went for my monthly check up to my surprise and disappointment he said that it looked inflamed and put me on a weeks course of steroids and antibiotics which didn't really have much effect but my voice was still ok. When I saw him again he suggested having another laser treatment as he said it may have returned which obviously filled me with dread but he said it was quite common after this type of surgery. I had my last laser 15th dec again hoarse and sore for a week but by xmas eve my voice had returned almost back to normal. I got my result last week and he said there was a slight return on the surface but again all the surrounding areas are clear which he was pleased about and reassured me not to worry and that things were looking good.

I have mentioned several times about having to have radiotherapy as like your self I am not sure what this entails and from what i'd heard it wasn't something I was keen to embark on unless it was absolutely necessary. He said it didn't warrant radiotherapy and he thinks this can be treated by laser alone and that radiotherapy was something, as he put it, to be saved if I needed it later down the line, he also said I may never need it. I am slightly puzzled that if you have already been told you have severe dyspasia would they not have lasered it away when they did your biopsy? I know every case is different but it might be worth mentioning this to your consultant, and exploring that option rather than going for radiotherapy straight away as you may not need it. I know how frustrated you must feel not being able to talk properly,I had the same problem and it drove me mad, i'm a personal trainer so it made my job really difficult and made me feel really self conscious going out as everybody would say whats wrong with your voice? I think that once you get rid of the irritation caused by the dyslpasia your voice will improve as i can't believe how much better my voice is now than before the surgery. I hope this has ben some help to you and that it is not too long winded. I wish you all the best with your treatment and remember we are in sense lucky as it is an early stage and we are being monitored. If you have any other questions just ask.

Best Wishes

Andy

Hi Marion,

Only just got your last msg sent on new years day. Thank you for thinking of me. I got my result from the last laser on jan 6th and he says there was a slight surface return of dysplasia which he lasered away and that the deeper biopsys he did were all clear which he says is looking good so fingers crossed, its ok. I wish you all the bset for 2010.

Andy x

Hi Andy

That's excellent news! Hopefully that will be the end of it and I'm sure the hospital will continue to monitor you and reassure you that all is well.

I wish you all the very best for the future.

Marion x

Hi Andy

That's excellent news! Hopefully that will be the end of it and I'm sure the hospital will continue to monitor you and reassure you that all is well.

I wish you all the very best for the future.

Marion x

Thanks Marion same to you too.

Hi Marion, Andy,

Firstly thanks for replies, it is nice to be in contact with people who have been through the same as I am going through now.

I got my results back on wednesday and thankfully the dysplasia has reduced to moderate from severe and the consultant was happy with this and also that the time between the last two procedures was nine months. They were being done every three months before this and also he commented that the growths were greatly reduced and not as angry as the previous ones. Hopefully this is all a continous move in the right direction. I am not due to see the consultant for 3 months so hopefully nothing will return in this time.

My voice is varying on a daily basis with it either being good or quite hoarse. The only thing which is dissapointing is that I struggle in crowded places. Hopefully this will improve over the coming weeks. Is this something you have come across whist recovering? I am so desperate to get my voice back to a good level. It is functional but not ideal.

Once again thanks for your replies. I will keep you posted of my progress.

Chris

Hi Chris

I'm so pleased that your results were good. The fact that your consultant is happy to see you every 3 months shows he's not too worried or he would want to see you sooner.

I used to panic about being in crowded places as you naturally speak a lot louder over background noise. I'm sure we've all been there - everything goes quiet and you realise you are shouting! When I'm in a noisy pub or if there's music playing, I get closer to the ear of the person I'm talking to, rather than shouting across people.

Try and look after your voice - drink plenty of water and try not to strain it. If you are very hoarse, then rest your voice for a couple of days and only speak when you really have to. Try and avoid long periods on the phone as you naturally talk louder than face to face.

As I mentioned before, my voice is better now after radiotherapy than when I had dysplacia but I used to vary between husky and barely audible depending on how much I had abused my voice over the weekend! Even now, my voice sometimes gets croaky and then I panic thinking the cancer's come back but I wait a couple of days and it goes back to normal again.

I wish you well and try not to worry (I know easier said than done)! Keep us posted.

Take care,

Marion x

HI Chris glad to hear your news, its good that you are being well monitered and it sounds like they are on top of the situation. Even though my voice is a lot better than it was I still sometimes have problems in crowds especially if there is loud music and I've had a few drinks my voice can sometimes go hoarse. Like marion I tend to get closer to people to and talk in to their ear if I can,usually my voice is ok when I get home. Sometimes it can be slightly difficult at work as I'm a personal trainer and work in a gym which can be quite noisy but again I find talking with your face to other person a little closer if they don't mind makes it easier. Real no no's for me are coffee as that tends to dry my voice out and it can become hoarse after 1 cup! Try and drink lots of water, and rest your voice as much as you can, I guess you know all this already. I have my next check up 10 feb so keeping my fingers crossed that all will be ok. All the best.

Andy

Marion, Andy,

Thanks once again for your repies. It is good to be able to be in communication with people who have had the same experiencies it really is a great help.

I will take on board both your comments regarding water as at the moment I am not drinking hardly any and am mainly on tea all day long with I am sure will dry it out. I have been advised not to drink in case it aggrevates the dysplasia until my next check up so I may go crazy and have a cordial or two next time I am out!!!!!

I hope that my voice returns to the levels both yours have as I am struggling at work at the moment as I have to hold a lot of meetings on construction sites so you can imagine the background noises I am up against. I think I have been pencilled in for some speech therapy in the the next couple of weeks so hopefully this also will have a positive effect. I think at the moment I may be expecting too much as it is only just over 3 weeks since my op so I would of thought they will still be swollen from the lasers.

Once again thanks and I will keep you posted.

Chris

Hi Andy

Just wanted to say good luck for your appointment on 10th Feb - what a coincedence, mine is the same day!! Let's post afterwards and compare notes?

Best Wishes

Marion x

Hi Marion,

Thanks for that and of course same to you, yes that is a coincidence. I always get worried about the check ups as I hate the whole experience having to wait for ages as the clinics always over run, I get really stressed worrying about the result but i'm trying to stay positive as the last result was encouraging so keeping my fingers crossed. Yes lets compare notes and hope we both get good news. speak soon.

Andy x

Hi Marion, Hope all is well with you. Hope you don't mind me messaging you again but things have taken a bit of a dip with my voice. Up to about the end of feb my voice was really good almost back to normal then on my 50th birthday I threw a party and noticed that with all the noise my voice became very hoarse and it was a real struggle to talk to everyone, this had'nt been a problem since my last op but since that night things have become steadily worse and I now struggle to speak normally above back ground noise and seem to have no volume in my voice. Its really getting me down as I thought I had got my voice back almost to normal after the op and now I feel back to square one. I feel incredibly self conscious when I meet new people as they always ask whats wrong with my voice or they can't hear what i'm saying.

At my last check up they said the left side of my vocal chord looked sore and that they thought it was due to the scarring from the laser treatment,and they are keeping an eye on it to see if it changes. The consultant also said that my voice may never get any better and the more lasering I have the worse it will get, which was really depressing to hear. You mentioned that your voice came back to normal after radiotherapy. I just wondered did you have lasering done too? I'm thinking that perhaps if the cancer has come back I might be better off having radiotherapy as I can't bear the thought of my voice getting worse. I would love to have the hope that one day my voice like yours would improve but I know every case is different. Have my next check up on weds and am dreading it as I have a feeling they are going to say I need more treatment. Hope you don't mind me getting in touch but am feeling very isolated as friends have been good but they don't really understand how difficult this is for me. Best wishes. Andy

Hi Zacker.

I had 10 weeks of radiotherapy on my vocal cords, I had trouble with my voice after, is took a long time to come back but it wasnt as strong as before, you say you are seeing your doctor, is he giving you a check up after your treatment or do you thing it is something else, you may be worrying to much, I had the same as you 2 years ago and got through it stay calm and dont worry till you find out with your doctor, let me know what he says.

joeninty

Hi Andy

How weird, I don't go on this site very much but I decided to look today and saw your message.

I'm really sorry to hear your voice is not so good. Another coincidence - mine has been a bit hoarse the last couple of weeks which is quite unusual for me and I have just brought my appointment forward to this Wednesday - so again, we are going on the same day!

In answer to your question about lasering, I did have lasering done about 3 times but had at least 9 biopsies without laser. My voice was really quite hoarse most of the time and I was always getting asked if I had a sore throat. After laser treatment my voice was bad for about 2 weeks or so then it slowly recovered - but it was always (and still is) very prone to straining. I don't think we realised how much we're shouting over noise but it's very difficult when you are in that environment.

I know you are worried that your dysplacia will turn to cancer but it doesn't mean it is inevitable that will happen although that won't stop you worrying! I'm fed up with people telling me not to worry - they haven't been through it!

It is strange that my voice went back to normal after 38 blasts of radiotherapy - I had naturally assumed that it would be worse than when I had the dysplacia. I don't know if everyone is as lucky though as I was told my voice could be better or even worse than before - everyone is different.

Please let me know how you get on at the hospital on Wednesday and I will let you know how I got on too.

I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Take care and try and think positive (easier said than done I know).

Love Marion x