Regaining natural speech after partial tongue removal.

hi there i have had the op in october of last year 2018 wont go into detail but yes i can still use my voice also look up 'tongue cancer journey' - this guy is in your situation he also uses his voice for work in the same line as you from what i can remember he had his operation a couple of years back i think he is an insperation to us all his page is loaded with videos from being in hospital to present day Paul Roebuck is his name he has even been on the bbc news not so long ago hope you can put your mind at ease like he has with many 

Thanks Steve, will look up the link for Paul. I am feeling very scared right now and appreciated the reply.

Hi Saturnal. I appreciate your anxiety completely. Having your diagnosis and now waiting for surgery is never going to be an easy time. I hope you will see from this forum that many people come through treatment and out the other side, if not unscathed, but with consequences and side-effects which we learn to live with. Speech is obviously a massive issue for you. My cancer was tonsil and lymph node for which i had chemoradiotherapy, but I have a speech issue which I will mention in a moment. What I would advise you to do, if you haven’t aleardy, is to be completely up front with your surgeon, so that he/she knows how vital your voice is for your job. They should be able to to advise roughly how affected it will be after surgery. It will of course depend on where on your tongue the cancer is - tip, side, back, underneath etc, and also on how big a piece they need to take, and whether or not they intend or need to replace the missing tissue with new tissue - flap etc. No 2 people will be the same. Ask them to bo COMPLETELY HONEST with you about the likely or possible changes to your speaking ability - health professionals can have a tendency to give you a b it of a fairystory, when what you want is, as someone on here put so well - the good, the bad and the ugly!

Finally, bear in mind that if you require radiotherapy afte the surgery, then this can affect your vocal cords. This has happened to me - not drastically, but my voice is weak, croaky and hoarse at varying times and I find this difficult as I too have to speak a lot at work.

Vey best wishes for your op next week. Keep asking questions!

Hilary

Hi Saturnal

welxome tonthe ckub no one really wants to join. I am 8 months post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer 35 radiotherapy sessions and 2 chemotherapy.

i can’t comment on tongue but yiur journey will be individual to you cannot onky re iterate what others have said ask questions take notes if un diubtbas again ,hopefully you will  get a speech  therapist and swallowing specialist I found mine an invaluable source whom complemented  the rest of the team do as they say keep practising exercises they give you no matter how ill you feel the 5 orv10 mins theybtake will be advantageous later in treatment.

i have a blog warts and all detailing my treatment

Www.radioactiveraz.wordpress.com

Good luck lots of us on here are willing to help or listen if you want to rant

Hazel aka RadioactiveRaz 

Hi 

Sorry for the late reply.  

It is going to be difficult to be anything other than general as we all heal differently but I do appreciate your worries.  After my op my speech was different and to my ears anyway sounded slurred.  I struggled with certain sounds as the whole make up of my mouth had changed.  I took a while getting used to having half a tongue that was having to do more work to form sounds and it did get tiring after speaking for a while.

I also had a few teeth removed which changed the overall mouth/speech dynamic too but it didn't take too long for most people to not really notice a difference in my overall speech.  I would add that I know I sound different but that's just something I have to put up with.

Like I said, we all heal at different rates but most of the people I have spoken to at clinic haven't said that speech was their main issue.  Have a chat with your docs and see if your hospital has a speech therapist on staff (mine did) so perhaps you could have a chat with them.

ATB

Mike

Thanks Mike, this site is good for me as friends can't quite see what we go through. My voice is my work as a TV presenter, environmental sci3nce lecturer so sure I know I am going to stay alive but feel I am about to lose my identity. But I am stubborn so will work with a speech therapist. Good luck to you and thanks

Janet

Hi Janet, I am not sure whether you are aware, but two well-known radio presenters -  Mark Radcliffe and Danny Baker - have both undergone head and neck cancer treatments. Danny has written about his experiences in his autobiography; he is now back to presenting with no effects that I can discern. Mark's treatment was more recent, but I believe he is now also starting to return to broadcasting. So, whilst everyone is different, there are some good examples out there to prove that it can be done. Good luck!

Thanks replies have been encoragi g. Decided with surgeon to opt for the 8-10 hour surbery to use my left forearm to reconstruct my tongue so the shape will help my speech. 

I was diagnosed with tongue cancer for the second time in 2017. First time 2010 they used laser to remove slices of my tongue and also has to slice the main nerve on one side of my tongue because it was diseased. I also had a Level 1 neck dissection and removal of my saliva gland. I managed to cope but eating was not easy. On 19th April 2017 I went into hospital to have a glossectomy  and Level 11 to 1V neck dissection , removal of 32 lymph nodes which would require ICU post op care NG tube , tracheostomy, etc etc. 11 hour op. and a very long recovery. My operation was the day before my birthday (2 years ago next Friday) When I came round from the anaesthetic I was not in ICU my brilliant surgeon had manged to do the surgery (back of my tongue) without opening my neck from the outside and breaking my jaw to gain access to the base of my tongue. After 8 weeks recovery I had 35 session of radiotherapy which was fine for the first couple of weeks but then became fairly difficult. Suffered burns etc.Christmas 2018 I started having a problem swallowing. I was regurgitating food and obviously by then my diet had changed completely.. I was referred to SALT again (I had been after first diagnosis in 2010) and they explained to me exactly what the problem was. This is called late  effects ( two years after op) I have always remained positive and had a unshakeable belief in the skills and knowledge of all the team that care for me. Its not easy, some days I can only speak for a short while and I can't control my tongue (it get tired) but  keep trying and a new consultant I saw recently was surprised at my speech. I am able to articulate quite well although when I am tired it is very difficult  ! Make your speech for the wedding early in the day

Dear Ellie Jane,

Thanks so much for your message and I wish you all the success in recovery for the futre you have had a tough time. Mine is at the side growing laterally and I expect to lose 1/5 of my tongue.  I just got a date May 1st on my birthday but thinking positively a birthday present to get rid of this demon. Will have the 8-10 hour pro edure like you.

Good luck