The University of Miami Medical School

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This is Mr. Jerome Brown (slide 5). After years of smoking he noticed a change in his voice and increasing hoarseness. This led to a laryngoscopy. In this procedure, a slender tube with a light at the end called a laryngoscope, seen here (slide 6), is passed through the nose and into the throat to the level of the vocal cords. Normal vocal cords as seen through the laryngoscope are shown here (slide 7). Inspection of Mr. Brown's vocal cords revealed a large whitish cancer as seen on the right (slide 8). A biopsy confirmed that this was cancer. To remove this cancer, Mr. Brown's entire larynx or voice box containing his vocal cords had to be surgically removed. This operation is called a laryngectomy. As Mr. Brown's doctor stated "He is now one week out from surgery and you can see that he now has his windpipe brought right out to the skin, as a tracheostomy (slide 9). He will breathe through this hole in his neck for the rest of his life". This was necessary because the airway between his mouth and his windpipe has been surgically closed off to prevent him from choking when he swallows food or fluids, something the larynx which was removed normally prevents. "He will be able to eat and drink fairly normally but he will never be able to speak or use his voice in a normal fashion". Although he can't speak, Mr. Brown wrote a handwritten message for teenagers which reads, "Think, don't smoke".

This is Mr. Gregorio Flores (slide 10) He also developed cancer of the larynx from smoking and required a tracheostomy, a surgically placed breathing hole in his neck (slide 11). Despite this surgery he continued to smoke. He inhales the smoke through his mouth and then blows it out through the hole in his neck. Because of his severe addiction to nicotine, he continued to smoke this way right up until his death. He died from inoperable widespread throat cancer a few months after appearing in this Video.

At the age of thirty-two, Mr. Calvin Dorsett also developed cancer of the larynx from smoking which required a laryngectomy, a surgical removal of the voice box, and a tracheostomy, a surgically placed hole in his neck. Following the surgery, he also couldn't speak but eventually trained himself to speak by using an electronic device, which as you can see, he places in his mouth (slide 12). Speaking through this device he said, "I was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx. I had a tracheotomy performed and at that time I quit smoking. Don't go through what I went through. The easiest way to avoid what I'm going through is not to smoke at all".

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