I posted for myself on the Q&A board, the other day - and received some very helpful advice. Whilst here I stumbled along this place, and thought i'd stop by to tell you about my partner's grandfather.

He was a life-long smoker and discovered he had throat cancer, several years ago. He had already lost some of his voice from a thyroid surgery and lost it all, with the laryngectomy. He struggled at first with the (my apologies, I don't know the clinical name) 'buzzer'. We found it very difficult to understand him with this, and he would become infuriated with himself. But with a little help from the speech therapist, he was able to really master esophageal speech (to us it seemed clearer than after he lost part of his voice from the thyroid surgery). He got to the point, of being asked to see newly diagnosed patients, so they could see what could be achieved.

Over time, he got his life back. He was always a working man, never idle, even in retirement! Taking things easy was nevergoing to be an option. He returned back to his 100ft vegetable garden began producing enough produce to share with the neighbours again. He often told us, that despite his age, he felt like a 19 year old boy.

Sadly we lost him last year, at the age of 82 - he was still cancer free (he went in less than a second, one minute laughing and teasing his wife, the next gone!). I blame it on all that bloomin' digging! We remain enormously proud of him and who he was and what he faced, as i'm sure your families are of you.

I wish you all luck with your treatment. I hope you didn't mind me sharing our story here (please feel free to delete, if it is not appropriate).