# Please : If you have a hoarse voice for over a few weeks, please go see your ENT doctor.



## muziksculp (Jul 20, 2021)

Hello Dear VI-C Members,

I just wanted to bring this helpful message to you, just in case you experience this.

I was experiencing Hoarsness in my voice for a couple months, and thought it was just something minor, until I finally took action, and visited an Ear-Nose-Throat Doctor, to find out what's causing the issue. I have never experienced this for a long period like this, so I knew something was not right.

I will make it a short story, so.. The ENT Doctor recommend some anti-bacterial gargle, and some Anti-Acid meds, and see how that helped for 10 days, I went back to see the ENT, this time she recommended I have a Biopsy of my left Vocal cord, it had a growth showing up on it, which they can detect via a special scope they use in the ENT's clinic.

I went for the Biopsy Procedure, which required full anesthesia, took around 1hr. for prepping, and 1hr for the surgical procedure itself , I then went back home.

Three days later, I got a phone call from my ENT that the growth on my left Vocal cord was cancerous, and needed to be treated either by removing it surgically, or via Radiation therapy. I chose surgical approach, and another Specialist ENT Surgeon operated on me yesterday, he uses a CO2 Based Laser to cut all the cancerous cells out, the surgery was very successful, all cancerous cells were removed, and I was discharged the same day to go home.

I'm now in recovery, not able to talk, since I'm missing a chunk of my left vocal cord. It will grow back in a few months, and I will hopefully regain my speech ability, but for now I'm taking a break from talking, and enjoying making music, and looking forward to see more strings libraries released 

I hope this was a helpful post for this forum community. Please do not ignore this type of issue, and go to visit your local ENT Doctor. It might save your life.

Wish you all a healthy, Happy, and productive life.

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## doctoremmet (Jul 20, 2021)

Thanks for sharing. I hope you get well soon friend! ❤️ - my heartfelt best wishes.


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## marclawsonmusic (Jul 20, 2021)

Sorry to hear this, Muziksculp. Thank you for the heads up. Best wishes for your recovery.


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## muziksculp (Jul 20, 2021)

On a side note.

It was quite fascinating for me to get to know more about our human vocal cords, their structure, and how they operated to produce our voice. I never had thought too much about that.

Such an amazing part of our anatomy, we use it right when we are born, with full blast screams signaling our arrival. We use them every day to communicate, and the vocal abilities of singers, operatic sopranos, tenor, ..etc. that use their vocal cords to create such amazing timbres, volume, vibrato techniques,...etc. Voice is an important part of our human communication, and it makes me wonder more about how complex, and sophisticated we are.


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## Trash Panda (Jul 20, 2021)

So glad to hear things went well and you're in full recovery. That's awesome news!



muziksculp said:


> It will grow back in a few months, and I will hopefully regain my speech ability, but for now I'm taking a break from talking, and enjoying making music, and *looking forward to see more strings libraries released *


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## kgdrum (Jul 20, 2021)

Most importantly get better soon! I had a similar type of problem about 2 years ago,my voice sounded like Miles Davis for about 6 to 8 months. My voice was so raspy (idiotic)people would sometimes mock the voice. When I went to the ENT they checked everything out and couldn’t really find the cause.
On a hunch I asked my doctor to prescribe me Prilosec and my voice got back to normal after about 5 or 6 weeks. Acid-reflux(heartburn) is a serious condition that many people ignore,accept as a part of the aging process or are totally oblivious about.
Left untreated acid reflux can actually be the cause of esophageal and vocal chord issues like losing your voice or worst case scenario something like cancer. My brother is a Doctor and he often gets on my case to be careful with eating within a couple of hours of going to sleep(big no-no) and to be more vigilant with taking Prilosec when necessary.
About 4 months ago I started having bloating and discomfort after eating and thought it might be GAS(not the type we like) so I tried anti-gas meds and they didn’t help so again on a hunch I tried taking the Prilosec (I hadn’t used in months) and immediately the bloating and discomfort vanished. So again this was Acid Reflux aka GERD that can present itself in many nefarious ways can be easily missed & unfortunately left untreated can have disastrous consequences.
@muziksculp I’m glad they caught this and I hope you make a speedy FULL recovery!


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## muziksculp (Jul 20, 2021)

OH.. and I forgot to mention that the morning before I went to the Hospital for the surgery, I decided to record my Voice on my DAW, to have a good reference to my voice before the surgery, and to be able to compare it to how my voice improves/changes over time.

So, there you go, another useful functionality for our beloved DAWs.


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## David Kudell (Jul 20, 2021)

Glad you're well, nothing like a health episode to make you realize how fragile we are and how we should never take anything for granted.


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## EgM (Jul 20, 2021)

Glad you caught it in time and that you're doing ok!


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## Welldone (Jul 20, 2021)

Thanks for sharing. Get well soon! There are many string libraries waiting for you in the future.


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## MA-Simon (Jul 20, 2021)

Damn, that sucks and sounds painfull. I hope it will heal back fast! Gute Besserung!


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## shropshirelad (Jul 20, 2021)

Wishing you a speedy recovery.


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## rnb_2 (Jul 20, 2021)

Thanks for the heads-up - I will certainly keep this in mind for the future. I'm glad you didn't wait any longer and they were able to get all the cancer without you losing a vocal chord.

Best wishes for healing and regaining your voice!


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## dzilizzi (Jul 20, 2021)

Glad you are doing better and I wish you a speedy recovery! 

As a singer, that would be a scary thing. I deal with acid reflux regularly, but for me, I usually end up with a cough that doesn't go away until I take something like prilosec.


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## kgdrum (Jul 20, 2021)

dzilizzi said:


> Glad you are doing better and I wish you a speedy recovery!
> 
> As a singer, that would be a scary thing. I deal with acid reflux regularly, but for me, I usually end up with a cough that doesn't go away until I take something like prilosec.


I find it amazing how many different ways something like Acid-Reflux can manifest itself & affect people differently,sometimes be quite obvious but often it’s almost just some small annoying part of aging we accept without realizing the long term consequences of not addressing the actual issue & leaving it untreated for years…………. IMO it’s probably under-diagnosed and I suspect many cases of esophageal cancer,throat cancer and possibly vocal chord cancer can be attributed to people that have ignored Acid Reflux for long periods of time without treatment.
I apologize if these posts are sidetracking this thread a bit as it’s more about the recovery of and best wishes for @muziksculp 👍
Besides @muziksculp having a speedy healthy recovery I hope this thread is a wake-up call for anyone here that might have these types of issues and might be ignoring it.


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## Alchemedia (Jul 20, 2021)

muziksculp said:


> OH.. and I forgot to mention that the morning before I went to the Hospital for the surgery, I decided to record my Voice on my DAW, to have a good reference to my voice before the surgery, and to be able to compare it to how my voice improves/changes over time.
> 
> So, there you go, another useful functionality for our beloved DAWs.


Will you release it as a Kontakt instrument? 
Get well soon!


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## styledelk (Jul 20, 2021)

I don't know you well or anything, but have appreciated your presence around here. I wish you well going forward!


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## AllanH (Jul 20, 2021)

I hope you have a speedy recovery and feel better soon! That's a bit scary, but it's good that you caught it.


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## InLight-Tone (Jul 20, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Glad you're well, nothing like a health episode to make you realize how fragile we are and how we should never take anything for granted.


Or better yet, make HEALTH the priority in LIFE than all the distractions. Of course modern "civilization" is constructed to do the exact opposite. Best of luck with your recovery...


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## Markrs (Jul 20, 2021)

muziksculp said:


> Hello Dear VI-C Members,
> 
> I just wanted to bring this helpful message to you, just in case you experience this.
> 
> ...


I'm so glad they found it a was able to remove all the cancerous cells. I hope you have a full recovery and can soon talk again. In the meantime enjoy making music


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## Loïc D (Jul 20, 2021)

I’m glad they found out and cured the issue quickly.
Get well soon, we need you around


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## chimuelo (Jul 21, 2021)

I just came from the ENT yesterday. My tumor is in my nasal area. 

My Tumor is being shrunk by Liquid Chemo until it can be surgically removed.
So far so good, if it doesn’t shrink enough, radiation treatment will be last resort. Then I’ll really look like the singer from Midnight Oil.

But I can’t say enough good things about modern day ENT specialists.
Everyone should have their primary care MD refer you for a bi annual visit even if you don’t have discernible issues.

Good Luck w/ Treatment.


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## el-bo (Jul 21, 2021)

All the best for your recovery


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## emilio_n (Jul 21, 2021)

Nice to see that you are recovering now. Take care.


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## Mr Frodo (Jul 21, 2021)

Thanks for the advice, and good luck with your recovery.


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## muziksculp (Jul 21, 2021)

chimuelo said:


> I just came from the ENT yesterday. My tumor is in my nasal area.
> 
> My Tumor is being shrunk by Liquid Chemo until it can be surgically removed.
> So far so good, if it doesn’t shrink enough, radiation treatment will be last resort. Then I’ll really look like the singer from Midnight Oil.
> ...


Hi chimuelo,

I'm very sorry to hear about your nasal area tumor. I hope they can take care of your tumor and cure you fully soon, I know this is a difficult time for you, but medical science, and the options they offer today are very advanced, and promising to cure many types of cancers, and tumors that were more difficult to cure in the past. I wish you a full, and speedy recovery.


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## kitekrazy (Jul 21, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Glad you're well, nothing like a health episode to make you realize how fragile we are and how we should never take anything for granted.


Tell me about it. A little over a year ago I almost lost my life to untreated diabetes. I'm slightly deformed but things could have been worse. I spent 6 weeks in medical facilities.


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## Geoff Grace (Jul 21, 2021)

Take care, *muziksculp* and *chimuelo*. I hope you both have a rapid, lasting, and complete recovery!

Best,

Geoff


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## Toecutter (Jul 21, 2021)

muzik you almost scared me, don't do that!! Happy to read you are well and recovering... your family must be enjoying the silence, I can picture you talking about strings libraries all day XD (like every family man should do!). Seriously, you make this forum a better place, I wish you a fast recovery


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