The Balancing Act – Laryngectomy Patient Journey

>> Our voice, naturally,

a large part of
our identity.

It's who we are.

But imagine a
world in which

your ability to
communicate is

challenged after
you've undergone

a surgery called
Laryngectomy.

Well, the good
news is, thanks to

advances in modern
technology,

there are a number of ways

to help you get
your voice back.

Joining us with Insight is

Meaghan Kane-Benjamin
of Atos Medical.

And later on, you're gonna

meet a man who can now

chat it up again with
the best of them.

Good morning, Meaghan.

>> Good morning.

>> Thanks for being here.

>> Thanks for having me.

>> Before we talk
about laryngectomy,

I think about the voice.

I need my voice
to do my job,

and I take it for granted.

>> You probably only
notice your voice when

you lose it and you
can't do your job.

It's very
inconvenient when

you don't have a voice.

>> And that's, of
course, is laryngitis.

But now let's talk more
about laryngectomy.

What is that?

>> Laryngectomy
is the removal

of the larynx
or vocal cords.

It's located in your neck.

If you put your
hand up here,

you can feel the
vibration when you talk.

>> Let me see
for a second.

Absolutely.

>> And then when
you swallow,

you feel the larynx move.

The primary
function of the

larynx is actually to

protect the
airway from food

and liquid going
down the wrong pipe.

Secondary is really to

produce sound, which
is your voice.

>> Now, this may seem
like a silly question,

but can we speak without

larynx or a voice box?

>> You can speak

without larynx
or a voice box.

We just need to find

an alternative
sound source,

which is oftentimes
the esophagus.

>> So when I think
of laryngectomy,

I don't know if you
think about this,

but I think about
those anti-smoking ads

that we see. You
know which ones?

>> Yes.

>> They're very
compelling.

>> They're so
compelling because

the objective is to get
people not to smoke.

But most of the 3,500 new

laryngectomies each
year that have

surgery go on to live
very fulfilling lives.

>> So there is life
after laryngectomy?

>> Absolutely.

>> Now, the great
news is there is

technology that's helping

people get their
voice back.

>> Absolutely,
and it's this.

>> Just that?

>> Just that. It's called
a voice prosthesis.

There's a surgical opening

between the trachea
and the esophagus,

and this voice prosthesis

gets placed
just like this.

And so one part sits
in the esophagus,

one part in the trachea,

and when the patient
goes to talk,

they cover the stoma

that they're
breathing through.

It shuns the air through

here and causes the
esophagus to vibrate.

And the beauty of
it is that there is

a small valve on
the backside,

so when the patient is
drinking and eating,

the food and liquid

doesn't flow back
into the lungs.

>> Fascinating.

Now, tell me what
this is here.

>> So this is amazing.

This is called
the flexi voice.

This is placed on the
outside of the stoma,

and it's a pressure
sensitive membrane

so that the
patient can talk

without using their
hands to cover.

>> Oh, my goodness.

>> Which is basically what

they were doing before
they had surgery.

And then we have HMEs,

a heat moisture exchanger.

Just in a nutshell,
this is your new nose.

This is what you
put on to warm,

humidify the air, which is

very important to the
health of your lungs.

And there's one
for the day,

and there's also one
for the evening.

>> Now, I know we
have a clip with

some patients who are
using this technology.

>> Oh, great.

>> I want to hear what
they have to say, so

let's take a
look real quick.

>> I'm the luckiest
man in the world.

I had cancer and
lost my voice.

I've now got a bike.

And when people they see

me months ago
with the manual,

haven't seen me
for a while,

and they see me
talking to them now,

they say, it's
just like having

a new bike pill,
and it's amazing.

>> Every day, me and
my wife go for a walk.

And when we walk we talk.

To use the hand-free
speaking valve

gives me the
possibility to

live a very active life.

Hello, my name is
Tora [inaudible].

I have a voice.

>> Truly remarkable and
just changing lives.

>> It's amazing.

>> Amazing also is
our next guest.

So stay right there
because we're going

to take a quick break
and when we come back,

we're gonna meet a man
who is now talking up

a storm thanks to this
great technology.

We'll do that next.
Before the break,

we were discussing
laryngectomy,

a surgery in which
the voice box,

the larynx is taken out.

It's usually performed in

advanced stages of cancer.

Well, joining me
once again is

Meaghan Kane-Benjamin,

and also now is joining me

is Henry Childress.
Good morning, Henry.

>> Good morning.
Thanks for having me.

>> No, thank you so much

for being here and for
sharing your story.

Tell me what happened.

>> We had a New Year's
Eve party in my house,

and the next morning,
I woke up hoarse.

>> Which happens
to many people.

>> Especially after
New Year's Eve party.

>> Of course, you were
having a lot of fun.

>> So I started going to

the doctor and
getting antibiotics,

and my wife finally told

me we need to see
a specialist.

>> You weren't
getting better?

>> I wasn't
getting better.

So I went to
one specialist,

and he found a nodule
on my vocal cords.

And he's the one that
found that I had

stage 4 tumor on
my vocal cords.

>> So what were
your options?

>> We started
out with chemo.

And we had chemo
for two rounds.

And the second round,
I had a bad reaction.

And so they pulled me

off of it and sent me back

down to the
doctor's office,

and he put the tube
back down to me

and the tumor was growing.

So he rushed me
into surgery

and cut the tumor off.

And then I got
a [inaudible]

right there so I
could breathe.

>> And then you

realized you had to
have a laryngectomy?

>> When I could not
having talked to my wife

and there was two options.

I could not have
a laryngectomy.

Maybe live six months,

two months or have
a laryngectomy.

And that was a decision
we had to make.

>> This is very
common, Meaghan,

where you're misdiagnosed,

time passes, and then

maybe something like
this can happen?

>> Yes, because there's

so many causes
of hoarseness,

and laryngeal cancer
is relatively rare,

so it's not the
first thing.

>> Now, Henry,
I was reading

here you've been
married for 36 years.

Congratulations.

Two children and
three grandchildren.

>> And fourth one
in about a week.

>> Oh, well,
congratulations there.

So when you underwent

the laryngectomy,
how was your life?

What were you doing?

How did it change
your life?

It must have been
very difficult.

I can only imagine.

>> Very difficult.

>> So let's move on.

So you got the technology,

and then that helped

all that bad
stuff go away.

So let's talk about
the positive stuff.

How did this technology

then change your life?

>> Making me back to a
person I was before.

>> What were you
able to start doing?

>> Playing with
my grandkids

without talking to them.

I'm trying to write and

they didn't know
what I was saying.

>> Community
support really

important in this
situation, advocacy?

>> There's such a
small number of

people that get a total
laryngectomy every

year that they
need access to

other people
that have gone

through it and
to education.

Having people
like Henry doing

things like this helps
raise awareness.

And then there's

so many events
and activities.

There are local
support groups,

there's national things,

and I think that
really helps with

the understanding of what

the future could hold.

>> That's why I
give back now.

I meet with patients

before they have
the surgeries.

I like help
patients to people.

>> So Henry, I
want you to use

your beautiful voice
and tell anyone out

there who is
hesitant about

getting this surgery,

what would you tell them?

>> First of all,
I would tell

them if you don't

get to answer
from one doctor,

go to another doctor

until you get the
right answer.

And then talk with
your doctor if

they're telling
you that you

need a laryngectomy,

see if they got a patient

like me that you
can talk to.

That made all
the difference

in the world for me.

>> Changed your life.

>> Changed my life.

>> And for more information
on how to reclaim

your voice, visit
atosmedical.us.

That's
atosmedical.us or go

to our website
TheBalancingAct.com.