25-year-old mum-of-two Lucy thought her voice problem was down to talking too much at work
A mum of two who thought her husky voice was down to overuse was told she had cancer and would need to have her larynx removed, aged 25. Lucy Lodge first noticed something was wrong when she struggled to hit the high notes she once found easy while performing karaoke with friends.
She blamed it on overuse of her vocal cords because she worked in sales and it was only when a friend asked her what had happened to her voice that she decided to see a doctor. The GP initially diagnosed laryngitis. But deep down, Lucy knew something wasn’t right.
“It wasn’t sudden and happened over time.” she said. “I just couldn’t hit the notes I used to. I also felt like something was stuck in my throat. I was constantly clearing it. I remember saying to my partner at the time, ‘I think I have cancer.’ He told me not to be silly, but I just knew.”
After being referred for further tests Lucy’s worst fears were confirmed. She had cancer of the vocal cords and needed radiotherapy; by the time her treatment was complete she’d had 37 gruelling sessions. “It was absolute agony,” she says. “Every time I sneezed or yawned, I cried. I couldn’t eat, I had square-shaped burns. And yet, in the end, it didn’t work.”
The cancer came back, more aggressively than before. This time, the only option was a total laryngectomy – removal of her voice box. “I told my consultant, ‘Do what you gotta do to get me cancer-free, and I’ll deal with it when I wake up,’” she said.
When Lucy came round after surgery, she couldn’t speak. She simply pointed to her neck, confused and scared.
“My mum said to me, ‘Lucy, they’ve had to.’ That’s when I realised.” Lucy spent 19 days in hospital, her neck held together with 72 staples. Lucy, now 39, went on to meet her new partner Simon and they live in Telford, Shropshire, with Keagan, 10, and Kody, one. She had to learn to speak again by pressing a tracheotomy button in her neck and admits that this does come with challenges. “Trying to change a one-year-old’s bum while pressing a button to talk – it’s like wrestling an alligator in silence!” she said. “If someone talks to me while I’m washing up, I end up soaked! And don’t get me started on trying to answer questions while packing my shopping.” Lucy, who works as an analyst for a pension company, has to have her speaking valve changed monthly or she is unable to drink even water as it goes straight to her lungs.
Despite all this her confidence today is undeniable. Lucy said: “You know what? Yeah, I am strong,” she says firmly. But I’ve had to be. I had no choice. And it’s the same for a lot of people. You’d be surprised how strong you actually are until you have to deal with things like this. “I didn’t look at myself for weeks after the surgery. I wasn’t ready. But now? I’m living. I’m showing people that you can live beautifully after a laryngectomy.”
After her experience she is determined to raise awareness of throat cancer and laryngectomy recovery, especially for people who’ve never heard of it. “Thirteen years ago, I had no idea this even existed,” she admits. “People often assume it’s caused by smoking. I wasn’t even a heavy smoker, and my doctors don’t think that’s what caused mine. “I’ve met people who’ve never touched a cigarette in their lives and still got it. HPV, alcohol, genetics, they all play a role. But saying I deserved cancer because I smoked? That’s cruel. Nobody deserves that. One in two people will get cancer at some point. That’s the scary truth. But I want people to know that you can come out the other side. You can live a happy life. I didn’t think I could handle this, but here I am, 13 years cancer-free. Stronger than ever.”
