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. Published: October 07 ::

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. Published: March 25 ::

I am a 42 year old male who had cancer of the larynx diagnosed in February of 1995. I had my entire vocal chords removed and 6 weeks of radiation. I had a stoma from which I breath from. It is now September, 2009 and I am still here. I was a very heavy smoker and drinker. Published: October 07 ::

Two months ago, my boyfriend was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (cancer in his voice box). He has never smoked, doesn't drink other than a beer, and doesn't have HPV. It is a mystery to the physicians. He was misdiagnosed by his ENT with stage 1, and when he went to his oncologist to start treatment, he was told it was stage 3. He has a full four days of chemo through a port every month for three months. He also has radiation therapy five times a week for 15 minutes. From the stories I read, this sounds like an alarming amount. He is ready to go nuts from the side effects, although he is diligent with his oral cleaning and rest. Published: August 24 ::

4 years ago I sent my boyfriend to and allergist because his voice was getting very rough and he had a "itch" cough that wouldn't go away. I couldn't stand him suffering if it wasn't necessary. They told us he had cancer of the larynx, it took my breath away. CANCER! We didn't know what to do. The doctors referred him to a cancer doctor, and another and another. It seemed hopeless, but we finally found one that worked. They told him that we caught it early so it looked good. He went in for radiation for 6 weeks. They said it should be gone, it wasn't. So they had him do chemo then 7 more weeks of radiation. It got rid of it alright. He finally got so fried that he coughed up his vocal cords little by little. It was the most painful thing for him and for me. I couldn't do anything to help. He can't even eat now, there’s nothing to digest the food. They didn't take us seriously, until he was in the hospital with pneumonia because food and drinks went in his lungs so bad he almost died. He is now on a feeding tube, he can't drink pop, enjoy food or try his son's fresh baked cookies. He pumps in ensure 2 times a day for the rest of his life. He can't even take medicine with out grinding it up and then putting it in his "food", or swallow his own spit! So if you know someone who has been diagnosed with this please tell them how important it is to not smoke, drink, and try to take it slow. Research you doctors and please be involved in they're treatment, patients get lost and tossed to the side so easily. I was there every visit for the first 6 months then he wouldn't let me. I know he felt smothered, but it all went down hill after that. Published: May 11 ::

I was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx on Sept. 18, 2008 after seeing my family doctor in June, July, and August. My family doctor ran a throat culture and determined that I had a bacterial infection on the throat, and after several rounds of antibiotics, he told me that it was just a bacterial infection, and it would go away on its own. He said I wouldn't have any more problems with it. On the last visit to my family doctor, with severe pain in my throat, he advised me that he couldn't find anything and recommended me to an ENT (ear, nose, throat doctor). On Sept. 11, 2008, I had an appointment with my ENT and he sent me in to get an immediate biopsy of my throat. After the biopsy, he informed my fiancé, and my mother that I do indeed have cancer of the larynx. I am in stage 4 of the cancer, and I have started with the radiation and chemotherapy. I have radiation five days a week now and chemo one day a week. I have also developed thrush in my mouth, tonsils, and tongue and cheeks ... and I am in severe pain. I am uncertain as to how long I have had cancer as I was diagnosed with "just" a bacterial infection after seeing my family doctor for months. I am on my third week of radiation and chemotherapy ... and I am not sure how much longer I will be undergoing both. It terrifies me to know that if I would have been diagnosed sooner, I would more than likely be getting better sooner. Also, I am a 43-year-old female with no children, and at times I feel like a walking pharmacy with all the medicines that I am on. Published: October 27 ::