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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