Comment from: Cupcake, 45-54 Female (Patient)Published: March 29
I'm 46 year female. I went from April of 08 to Nov 08 with mild sore throat and bad cough, and some hoarseness. So from a promise I made to my family. I went to the ENT for him to let me know I had something suspicious. He immediately set me up with appointment with a specialist. There I was told of larynx cancer. Feb of 09 to late Mar I did my 7 wks of radiation and 1 day a wk for 5 wks of cemo. Also I had g-tube put in. I weighed in at 170 and come out 123. I was lucky not to be sick at the time of treatment. I got sick after lost a little more weight and lost my voice. My voice came back got the G-tube out Aug 6. Put some weight back on not a lot but was feeling good. Went in June for checkup for pet scan to find out it's gone. Everything is great. Dec. 09 I feel a little itchy in throat same symptoms. Its back and it's not good I don't think it ever went away. Radiation or cancer ate up my voice box I coughed up pieces of it. I was so scared. Well they took out the voice box, I now have a trac. And this all happened Feb 19 2010 I feel great now. I'm Alive and I thank God for that. I was a heavy drinker and smoker. I can say if you find yourself in my shoes. Keep a positive attitude pray and just take it day by day you'll make it. I still am not out of the woods but everything looks good. I have some procedures to undergo next week to get a voice. So we'll let ya know about that week after.
Comment from: loving wife, 65-74 Male (Caregiver)Published: October 07
My husband suffered from hoarseness. No pain or difficulty breathing, just his voice was hoarse. This was for 4 months. He visited his doctor who said it was caused by stomach gases irritating the throat (heartburn) and prescribed gas medication. I finally made an appointment with the ENT and as soon as he looked into his throat he stated as calmly as you can that he had cancer! I must say that my husband had never been sick in his life. He is now 66 and this all happened when he was 64. Luckily we have a great ENT doctor and wasted no time in gettng him in the hospital the next day. he had a tracheostomy placed and a feeding tube in his stomach to prepare him for the treatments and side effects. He has had 35 rounds of radiation and 7 treatments of chemo. He could not eat or drink and I fed him through the tube, a special liquid diet and had to clean the trach twice a day. He also had a lot of phlegm and had to be suctioned as often as every hour. Not a pleasant thing for him. He has stopped smoking after 50 yrs. He never craves a cigarette and the food tastes better than ever. He is not out of the woods yet but is getting better every day. The lesson here is that we have to be more responsible for our own health and if one doctor does not have the right answer we have to search for another. They are only human and don't always have the right training to diagnose all symptoms.
Comment from: Senior Counselor, 55-64 Male (Patient)Published: March 25
I had started experiencing hoarseness for about three months. I went to my doctor, and he was amazing. He told me because of my age, and the length of time I had the hoarseness, that it might be cancer. He also told me that he could not be certain without an ENT doctor doing tests on me, so he made the appointment. Sure enough, he was right. I was diagnosed with stage I cancer of the larynx, but because of early diagnosis, I have a 90% chance of recovery. I also had a chance to accept the diagnosis because I was warned so early. If you have any changes in your body or health, go to the doctor, and get it checked out.
Comment from: Avic Vera, 65-74 Female (Caregiver)Published: September 13
My mother had an operation in her larynx due to a mass (3/4 big) which prevented her from breathing well. Previous checkups showed that she had an asthma until her Doctor had a bronchoscopy which he saw the mass. It was Stage 3 and she was immediately operated after 5 days. She had a successful operation and the Doctor kept the voice box intact and explained that she will undergo radiation after a month. She was recovering fast but had difficulty with her cough due to mucus which according to the Doctor was normal due to the foreign body which was the tube in her throat. Unfortunately, 13 days after her operation, she had a cough and it had a blood on it. Immediately more blood followed and knowing that my mother had a high blood pressure she must have been so nervous. Unfortunately, she was declared dead on arrival in the hospital. It was a sad experience since we only knew it a few days before her operation hoping she will get well. I know she is already in heaven and rest in peace. My mother was a teacher so we were thinking that the cancer maybe due to continued used of her voice in her classroom, one factor was the chalk used in writing in the black board, she was also a passive smoker since my father and brother were smokers and lastly, after her retirement, she took care of our rice field which the doctor said could have triggered the asthma. I hope you learned something from my experience with my dear mother. Please do take care of your mother and father.
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I'm 46 year female. I went from April of 08 to Nov 08 with mild sore throat and bad cough, and some hoarseness. So from a promise I made to my family. I went to the ENT for him to let me know I had something suspicious. He immediately set me up with appointment with a specialist. There I was told of larynx cancer. Feb of 09 to late Mar I did my 7 wks of radiation and 1 day a wk for 5 wks of cemo. Also I had g-tube put in. I weighed in at 170 and come out 123. I was lucky not to be sick at the time of treatment. I got sick after lost a little more weight and lost my voice. My voice came back got the G-tube out Aug 6. Put some weight back on not a lot but was feeling good. Went in June for checkup for pet scan to find out it's gone. Everything is great. Dec. 09 I feel a little itchy in throat same symptoms. Its back and it's not good I don't think it ever went away. Radiation or cancer ate up my voice box I coughed up pieces of it. I was so scared. Well they took out the voice box, I now have a trac. And this all happened Feb 19 2010 I feel great now. I'm Alive and I thank God for that. I was a heavy drinker and smoker. I can say if you find yourself in my shoes. Keep a positive attitude pray and just take it day by day you'll make it. I still am not out of the woods but everything looks good. I have some procedures to undergo next week to get a voice. So we'll let ya know about that week after.
Related Reading: sore throat | hoarseness | larynx cancer