Another Cancer Update

All good news.

It was two years ago today that I was diagnosed with throat cancer. A lot of new subscribers don't have any context or background. So here is a synopsis of my cancer journey.

Some 35 radiation and 7 chemo treatments with excellent care put me through the hardest thing I'd ever done in my life. I lost 45 pounds and ended up on a liquids- only diet.

A follow up PET scan uncovered a "hot spot" still remained parked on top of my larnyx. I was given a couple of surgical options.

I took the more complex and consequentisl option called a Radical Laryngectomy. That meant a 23 hour operation and four to six weeks of hospital recovery.

I chose it because it has a greater chance of getting rid of the cancer. But It also meant I would sacrifice some of the base of my tongue and all of my larnyx.

Some of the consequenciallifestyle adaptations meant I couldn't be rude anymore by sticking out my tongue. I still have my middle finger so in the end it was an easy adaptation

LEARNING HOW TO SPEAK

I also would have to learn how to "speak" again by using a valve embedded in my esophagus. That form of speaking has been a problem for me ever since the surgery.

The reason is I need a really good air seal around my stoma to use the air when I exhale. It goes through the valve to create a vibration. That allows me to make sounds using my mouth and the remains of my tongue. My voice is very different combination of Darth Vader meets the singer Tom Waites.

The air seal problem is because my stoma, the breathing hole in my neck, is large. The commercial air seal products don't fit effectively enough to provide the needed air seal.

INNOVATION TO THE RESCUE?

So my creative problem solving son Jake, came up with a stroke of genius, a prosthesis instead of the commercial products.

He used to be in the film business. He knew of some makeup artists who made prostheses actors wore for movies. We discussed the idea with my speech therapist and she's 100% in on the innovation idea.

Jake connected with someone he knew 20 years ago in the prosthesis building artform. Stacey was intrigued and for the costs of silicone and other supplies the innovation adventure started.

This week I will receive prostheses version 4.0 which I believe will meet my needs. If so, I will finally be able to get going on my most significant cancer recovery adaptation, learning how to speak again

ANOTHER INNOVATION

Artificial Intelligence is also coming to my rescue. I talked for a living as a lawyer, a consultant and even as a keynote speaker. I am scheduled to do a 5 or 6 minute speech this Saturday at a workshop I'm hosting. Yes I'm well into my recovery.

My prosthesis will enable me to speak in short sentences with kind breathes. Not good enough for a speech.

My good friend Tim to the rescue. There are some terrific text to speech AI applications now. The Eleven Labs app enables speech cloning.

So Tim has taken some of the audio of a video of a speech I gave 16 years ago. He has cloned my voice, not perfect but good enough to be recognizable. I can now type out my speech into the app and have it say the text in my voice.

With this technology I could fake ventriloquism.

My cancer journey has been filled with love and support from so many people including my healthcare team. I'm reminded every day of how much I have to be grateful for because of them.

So two years to the day and a momentous week of progress lays ahead. I am Drawn Onward.