I am new to this anyone else suffer with throat cancer

You must have a baseplate and HME filter seeker1

Good evening Paddle, thanks for posting, well done in what you have achieved so far, and being 9 months is about the stage where things have settled down. Of course, all of this will change your way of life but with time you adjust and adapt to your new way of life. It's fantastic that you can have some kind of voice through the speech valve (TEP). It sounds as if you are a positive person so i encourage you to continue like this as life does get better but we all realize it will never be the same as before because of what we have had done. Unfortunately for me i cannot speak or swallow properly due to previous cancer surgery with radio and chemo but im very happy with my life and do the same as most people i.e, shopping, drinking slowly, walking, going to concerts etc. If you click on my name it will take you to my profile where i have written a brief story of my cancer journey. Please feel fre to re-post if you want further advice or just someone to chat with as i know it can be difficult in the early stages of recovery. You can also send a friend request if you want to speak in private. Wishing you all the best.

                                                                           Chris x                      

I do have a provox flexiderm adhesive base plate for the HME filter to stick on to. 

Thats good 

I am so sorry your journey sounds very scary, wishing you all the very best 

Hi Paddle, I had a Laryngectomy last August, I have just celebrated a year, I didn't have RT as after discussing with the Oncologist the pros and cons they wittled it down to a risk from 25% to 15% of cancer returning and the cons of damaging my feed pipe and swallowing, I eat drink etc fine, have check ups approx every 8 weeks with alternate scans.

I returned to work in the November and now work 20 hours a week which includes a lot of talking so my speech valve is changed every 3 months at 71 I'm not doing too bad, you have bad days, my pain is the baseplates I've just changed over to the new Life range but my skin just don't like baseplates ! So as the wife is at work on Saturdays I take them off and allow the neck to air with foam over it.

My best advice is keep in touch with your MacMIllan Speech Therapist they are great, I'm lucky I have 2 one in each Hospital, they are now desperate to get me onto hands free speaking so that's my next challenge

Keep going we hopefully all get there

How lucky you are! After my  operation I was also in order until I had RT. I still think it was a mistake and I shouldnt have had it. It is too late now. If I knew then what I know now I would never have had it. I am still sure if it does come back one can treat it then if one catches it early enough. Yes my mouth and food pipe is damaged and as far I can see beyond repair. As I have written already I dont bother with speech and have learned to manage without, since it would entail another operation however small. I dont have problems with my base plate except they dont stick on very long. I am really very jealous of you and the fact that you were given the option.  

Kasvin said:

I'm lucky I have 2 one in each Hospital, they are now desperate to get me onto hands free speaking so that's my next challenge

How does hands free speech work?

Hi Beesuit, it works via a different type of HME base, that has a small valve flap and instead of having to press the HME the valve closes when you speak so there is no hand operation, I am only just decided to give it a try, the Nurses pestered me in June and as I am due a change of valve will give it a go.

Hi, I am extreemly quizitive type of person, I work for the Citizens Advice so in that job you have to be, my Consultant started the process as she said I could try RT to clear the cancer but as it was stage 4 she said the amount needed could damage so much tissue that the rebuilds tend to be extreemly difficult and rarely the results are good, she did say that most Consultants do RT first. So when it came to the follow-up the Oncologists had already circled before the operation and they mentioned the after problems and risks, anyway my Wife and I came away from the appointment totally bemused, we had had one and half hours of information etc and can't remember how many people in one room-remembering it was at the height of Covid, anyway after I went through to having the Mask made etc which was the start of my doughts as I found it just too much. So the Oncologist was pestering for a decision as I was getting near to when they said it would be ineffective, that's when we met and I discovered the %ages and decided against.

I am sorry for you but I would still discuss the implant of a valve as it is a small hole at the back of the breathing pipe and into your food pipe, there are also other options to speak not as good, Atos have a special section on Speech:

https://www.atosmedical.co.uk/laryngectomy/a-different-way-of-communicating/voice-prosthesis-speech/

Have a look,  there is on here where they say the voice isn't the same as before, I have found my family, friends and work collegues say if anything I sound more like before my voice changed with the Cancer.

Take Care