Can anyone help me?

BonBon16
BonBon16 Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I am 34 years old I got nasopharygenal carcinoma when I was only 18 years old!! I have been through alot in the past 16 years. The best part of life are my 2 kids... any way to make this short I have been in and out of the hospital for the past 16 years with complications due to the HARSH radiation treatments.... I havent been able to eat or drink ANYTHING for the past 4 years... My next thing in life will be a larygectomy. Does anybody know what to expect from this? Will I have a voice? Or will I have to carry a advice from here on out?
If anyone can help answer my questions THANK YOU!!

Comments

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #2
    Hi BonBon

    I too am NPC and there are a lot of us here, my first treatment was in 2002 and my last was in 2005 both times for NPC on the right side. I have been dealing with the Harsh radiation as my body has consumed right at 14,000 rads of the stuff in a little over 2 ½ years. You said you been out of treatment for 16 years but could not eat anything from the last 4 years, was this side affects of the radiation or due to another problem, and I guess why are you having to replace your Voice box.

    I am very interest to know as I have a lot of problems eating and opening my months.

    All the best to you
  • denistd
    denistd Member Posts: 597
    #3
    Hondo said:

    Hi BonBon

    I too am NPC and there are a lot of us here, my first treatment was in 2002 and my last was in 2005 both times for NPC on the right side. I have been dealing with the Harsh radiation as my body has consumed right at 14,000 rads of the stuff in a little over 2 ½ years. You said you been out of treatment for 16 years but could not eat anything from the last 4 years, was this side affects of the radiation or due to another problem, and I guess why are you having to replace your Voice box.

    I am very interest to know as I have a lot of problems eating and opening my months.

    All the best to you

    BOB BON
    Hi BonBon. I am a surviving laryngeal cancer patient. I was diagnosed about 13 months ago with cancer of the larynx, at first I felt that the doctors were going to recommend that I have a laryngectomy. After a laryngoscopy and pet scan they found the cancer was limited to the vocal cord plus I was staged as a 3, and the decision was to go with radiation and chemo. I finished treatment on June 17 2009. There are things that hangover from all of this but I did get through, got my voice back 95%, taste is back, weight is back and I generally feel ok. A laryngectomy is a radical procedure that will change things for you. No you will not get your voice back, however, modern medical science will give you a device that will allow you to speak,albeit not with your normal voice. The vocal cords are removed with the whole voice box. You will breathe through a hole in your neck called a stoma. There are a lot of things to learn about a laryngectomy. I suggest you go to a site called Laryngectomy Life. This is a group of people from all around the world who have had laryngectomies or are carers for those that have had the operation. The people there will help you immensely, there are pictures that show the different stages a laryngectomee go through. Denis
  • Dazey
    Dazey Member Posts: 91
    #4
    laryngectomy
    One thing you may want to explore is asking about having a "Blom-Singer"(?) prothesis put in if you do have a laryngectomy. While my knowledge of it is about 14 years old, my husband did have one inserted when he had the laryngectomy at Sloan Kettering. It allowed him to speak without an artificial external device. He had to have some speech therapy to learn how to do it. I would guess that technology is much more advanced now and that would be one thing that has advanced. I wish you well on this journey, Dazey

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