Hello List,
First of all, let me thank everyone for welcoming me back. A couple of you
have asked some more questions about my situation. The following is what
I've learned about the disease in general and some more on my particular
situation.
It is most commonly seen in people over 60 who have a history of heavy
smoking and/or drinking. A 26 year old nonsmoker obviously does not fit into
this category. I have no history of cancer in my family. The only thing my
doctor and I could find was that both of my parents had a 3-pack-a-day
cigarette habit for the first 17 years of my life. Needless to say, I now
have strong opinions on smoking in general and second-hand smoke in
particular.
Larynx cancer is like most other cancers these days: very treatable if
caught early; very deadly if it's not caught early. I'm lucky that I'm a
singer. We tend to be more aware of vocal problems than the average
population. If I weren't a singer I probably wouldn't have noticed anything
was wrong until it affected my speaking voice and then I probably would've
thought "Oh, it's just a cold", or "Oh, it's just allergies". And by the
time I got to a doctor who knows how advanced it would have been.
That brings me to another point (stepping up on soap-box now). All singers
should know of a reputable ENT in their area who works with singers. Even if
your in fabulous vocal health it doesn't hurt to know who to turn to if
something starts to go wrong. (stepping off of soap-box now).
Leslie, I had my surgery at Medical City Dallas. My doctor is Wayne Kirkham.
Denise Johnson
dj1756@h...
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