[Music]

My name is Kelly Jackson-Waite. I'm a Macmillan speech and language therapist

and I work for the Northamptonshire Provider Services.

Speech therapy involves working with people who have difficulties with speech

or with swallowing following head and neck cancer.

[New speaker] My name is Mick. You will notice that I have to keep pressing this

object on the front of my neck.

This is the only way that I can speak.

It's called an HME. Which is heat moisture exchange.

An example of head and neck cancer is laryngeal cancer.

Laryngeal cancer is cancer in your larynx

which is a box-like structure which you can feel in your neck.

Your larynx has your vocal cords which, when they move together they vibrate and that's how you produce voice.

And when they do the surgery they take the whole larynx out

which is at the top of your airway, your trachea,

so they have to divert your trachea so that you breathe through your neck.

They create an opening on your neck so that you breathe through your neck

and they've taken your vocal cords out

so after surgery we have to find a different way for you to speak

The voice prosthesis is a silicone device that sits

between the back of the airway and the gullet,

so when the stoma is covered the air is pushed through the valve, which is a one-way valve,

up into the mouth so that voice can be produced

by a segment of the pharynx being vibrated to produce voice.

[New speaker] I was told that I would have to learn to speak again after the operation

but ten minutes after I had the valve fitted

I was on the phone speaking to all my family.

It was great. My family could not believe I was on the end of the phone

talking to them because they thought

that I may never speak again or it would be a very long time.

This is another option that laryngectomy patients can use.

It's an artificial larynx

and it's for those patients that are unable to have a surgical voice restoration

the surgery has been quite difficult or complicated

and it works by pressing it onto the side of the neck and when you press

the button it vibrates to give an artificial speech

[Demonstrating the artificial larynx] Hello, how are you?

The impact is huge for those who are faced with having to go through a laryngectomy.

They've got to come to terms with the fact that their anatomy is going to change,

they're going to be breathing differently.

They're going to be learning how to talk in a different way.

The implications on a social level and a psychological level

are very different and it's going to take a long time

to come to terms with that

And as a speech therapist we're available to help them through the whole process

and we can provide them with information preoperatively

and also after the operation we can help them with various aspects of

the rehabilitation in terms of helping them with surgical voice restoration

or other modes of communication. Whatever is appropriate for them.

Also with the coming to terms with all the different changes that have happened

and the psychological and emotional support that goes with that

And that will go on for as long as they need it.

And we see them for a long time because they come back

for support with their stoma and their speaking valve

We can offer them what they need.

Any time I need a valve changing I just ring them up

and I'm normally in the hospital within one hour.

And I couldn't ask for anything better than the care that I get from those two ladies.

The most rewarding part of my job is three weeks after having a laryngectomy

is when you can start teaching the patient how to use their valve

So from not having any speech to suddenly being able to use the speech valve

and develop the speech and being able to communicate again with family and friends

I find that incredibly rewarding.

If you have any concerns contact your local speech therapist

or your local specialist nurse in head and neck cancer

or just look on the Macmillan website for the appropriate person in your local area

For information, help, or if you just want a chat

call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00 or visit macmillan.org.uk