SWALLOWS_PATIENT_BOOKLET_MAIN_110918

Geoff’s
Story
In The Beginning
I was coming to the end of my 15-year engagement with
British Aerospace in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia when I
started getting a husky voice and was hospitalised for a few
days due to flaking out a couple of times. After returning to
the UK upon retirement I became a little bored and went
to Baghdad, Iraq for a year or so to help to set up a Private
Security Company. Again, I suffered similar voice problems
and my voice would come and go. And again, I flaked out a
couple of times, once on my flight home to UK. I put all this
down to the dusty conditions of the desert. Once back in
the UK I saw my local General Practitioner who immediately
referred me to a consultant at my local hospital.
The Diagnosis
The Consultant took a telescopic look down my throat
which was piped via my nose, and then said, “You know
what this is don’t you?” I immediately knew and replied
“Yes, I think so.” After various scans, x-rays and being
prodded and poked, I was informed that the cancer on
my larynx was T-4 which meant it was very aggressive,
was already eating my larynx, and was now looking for
somewhere else to go. We then discussed the options.
The Operation
I was given a total laryngectomy in Jan 2009 and they also
removed the lymph nodes in my neck and part of my thyroid.
This all went well, and I healed surprisingly quickly. And was
soon eating and drinking, and talking again with confidence.
The Side-Effects
After that operation I was to endure 37 consecutive days
of radio-therapy and weekly sessions of chemotherapy.
This went well although towards the end I started to get
nauseous and my neck was quite badly burned. I was
re-admitted to hospital due to dehydration, but was soon up
and about and settling back into my normal daily routine.
After a few months I started to suffer frequent problems
with my the speech valve in my throat and had to have it
changed frequently because it would leak, causing me to
splutter and choke when eating or drinking. The effects of
the radiotherapy had badly scarred the tissue inside my
throat. I was in and out of hospital until 2014, when I was
eventually unable to eat or drink by mouth, or talk at all for
eight months. Now, over eight years since my laryngectomy,
the hair on my chest has still not grown back and under
hot sun my neck starts to cook again from the radiotherapy
effects. Prior to radiotherapy I was fitted with a PEG (tube) to
enable me to take food and liquid directly into my stomach.
I still have the same PEG fitted all these years later!
22
The Major Pectoral Muscle Flap
Eventually, in 2014 my consultant in Devon, referred
me to a consultant surgeon in the Northeast of England
where I underwent a Major Pectoral Muscle Flap. This
entailed taking muscle tissue from my left chest / breast
and flapping it into my neck. I no longer have a left
man-boob and had eighty metal clips stapled in my
chest during the operation, but since removed. This all
went remarkably well, and I was up and running again
reasonably quickly. I was again able to eat, drink and talk.
I can eat and drink now, albeit slowly, and the food must
be soft and small. But…Then in 2016 I was once again
unable to talk at all.
Speechless
Another operation was necessary to realign my speech
valve as it had “migrated” and wasn’t sitting in my throat
correctly. This was preventing me from using what
voice I had left. However, my consultant who seemed
somewhat hesitant said to me “That sometimes when we
try to put things right, we can make matters worse.” That
didn’t instil me with a great deal of confidence, but I was
completely in their hands. I was also given the choice
between eating and drinking, or talking, for the rest of my
life. There was a chance I might not be able to do both.
A Brand New Speech Valve
However, in March 2016 they removed my speech
valve and then let the fissure close over completely. In
November 2016 they checked me over and said they
would try to fix a new speech valve before Christmas. I
was elated. But then Christmas came and not a word.
Easter of 2017 came and still no word. Eventually I was
admitted in May and they punctured a new hole inside
my throat in readiness to receive a new speech valve.
Although this procedure was performed under a general
anaesthetic I was discharged that same day which
was a Monday. On the Friday, the Speech & Language
Therapist fitted me with a new speech valve and this
allowed me to eat, drink and to utter a few words.
Thanks
Without a doubt, I owe my life to the GP who first spotted
a problem and immediately referred me to a consultant.
That saved my life. And of course, I will be eternally
grateful to all the surgeons, clinicians, therapists, and
hospital workers who have been there for me for these
past few years. And special thanks to the nurses and
other hospital staff of Lynher Ward at Derriford Hospital.