I had been practicing pediatrics and
infectious diseases for over forty years when I was diagnosed with throat
cancer in 2008. Unfortunately, my larynx had to be removed to eradicate the
cancer. Becoming a laryngectomee (someone
without vocal cords) was difficult and challenging. I had to learn to speak
again and cope with many medical, dental, psychological and social issues. Day-to-day
life was difficult. Things that I took for granted -- such as speaking, eating,
and breathing -- became arduous.
I realized that there was an urgent need
to prepare an instructive book that could guide similar voiceless individuals
and their family members, as well as their medical providers, through the
process of rehabilitation and improvement in their care. To this goal -- and after many discussions (in
person, online, and at meetings) with
laryngectomees, speech pathologists, doctors and others -- I wrote a book
entitled “The Laryngectomee Guide” which provides practical information to
assist patients with speech, medical, dental and psychological issues. It
contains information about living without a “normal” voice, including the side
effects of radiation and chemotherapy; methods of speaking without vocal cords;
airway, stoma, and voice prosthesis care; how to overcome eating and swallowing
problems; how to cope with medical, dental and psychological problems; and how
to travel.
The Guide has been adopted by the
American Academy of Otolaryngology and had also been translated from English to
many other languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Bulgarian, Italian,
and more). The translations have been done by native medical professionals and
the Guide is available for free download from the websites of medical societies
in these countries.
The Guide is also being used in countries
throughout the Middle East. It has been translated from English to Arabic, Iranian
(Farsi), and Turkish by local medical professionals from these countries. It is
available for download free of charge and is being used by head and neck
surgeons, speech and language pathologists, as well as patients with head and
neck cancer in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Dubai. I have
been receiving many messages of gratitude from head and neck cancer patients,
as well as head and neck cancer surgeons and speech and language pathologists
in these countries.
The translation into Arabic has, in
particular, been personally significant to me, as I view this small endeavor as
aiding to serve the cause of peace and enhance the coexistence between Israel
and its neighbors. The goad of alleviating patient suffering and improving people’s
lives has no borders.
I served as a medic in the Six Day War
and a battalion physician in the Yom Kippur War, during which I took care of
many wounded Jordanian and Egyptian prisoners of war. I provided them with the
best care I could give and I am proud that I was able to save many lives. Caring
for these prisoners of war offered to me a sort of inner satisfaction during
difficult times. I felt that, even in
the midst of war and destruction, I could honor the sanctity of human life, a
value with which I had been raised. I knew that, as a Jew and as a medical
professional, I could not conduct myself differently.
For me, making the Guide available in
countries with whom we have fought wars and with whom we may continue to have
political differences is a continuation of what I did as a young physician
during times of conflict. Seeing the
Guide assist patients across the Middle East and in other countries is part and
parcel of the core values of medicine and a recognition that those of us in the
medical professions are called on to help the sick wherever they are.
Itzhak Brook MD, MSc
Dr. Brook is a professor of Pediatrics at
Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington DC. He is a speaker for
the Israeli Embassy in the United States, and the author of the books “My
Voice, A physician’s personal experience with throat cancer”, “The Laryngecomee
Guide”, and “In the Sands of Sinai- A physician's Account of the Yom Kippur
War"
Jerusalem Post article October 26, 2018
