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I'm probably going to lose my ability to speak.

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Welp. Long story short I probably have tongue cancer. After numerous doctor visits and ruling out other diseases, I'm going to an oral cancer specialist Monday.

If the diagnosis is confirmed and they want to operate I will never be able to speak again. At this point it's still up in the air but its not looking good.

So GAF, my Internet buddies, how would you cope?

My idea is to record every word in the dictionary and get some Stephen Hawkins shit going on. I'm definitely going to have to learn ASL so any gaffers who are fluent and would like to Skype or Facetime let me know.

I know this thread is a downer but honestly, I'm not that depressed. Probably since I know it's my own fault for smoking for so long.


Edit: I'm at work but will be checking tread periodically.
 
Good luck for ASL.

Also, don't let people think that you're retarded just because you can't speak. Such people exist, unfortunately.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Sucks man... I'd say look to Ebert for inspiration. Guy lost his voice and he still doesn't ever shut up ;)
 
Dude, that really sucks, but there have been amazing strides in robotic voices.

If there is any silver lining to this, you could have a voice that you can change with the click of a button.
 

Raguel

Member
oh man. =( Sorry to hear that. Even though you say its your "fault," no one should go through that horrible shit. No one. I fucking hate cancer with a passion. I wouldn't know what i would do if i was diagnosed with tongue cancer. Prob be with family and friends. Stay positive. Is there any chance it will spread to other parts of your body?
 
Sry to hear dude :-(

I did see they did something like that with Ebert since he can't talk (using recording of his voice). Its probably expensive though. How are you not going to be able to talk? Will you still be able to eat and taste?

I don't know if its something this is positive but at least your not losing your ability to experience the world. I'd imagine losing sight or hearing is much worse.
 

Pastry

Banned
Damn that sucks, I'm sorry. At least you seem to be staying positive about it. How long were you a smoker for? I need to quit :(
 

Stridone

Banned
Surprises me they don't have some sort of prosthetic solution but the tongue is a complicated muscle I guess.

At least you can still post on GAF! But good luck, hope it's nothing too bad.
 
oh man. =( Sorry to hear that. Even though you say its your "fault," no one should go through that horrible shit. No one. I fucking hate cancer with a passion. I wouldn't know what i would do if i was diagnosed with tongue cancer. Prob be with family and friends. Stay positive. Is there any chance it will spread to other parts of your body?

It's possible that it could spread to the lymph nodes.


Sry to hear dude :-(

I did see they did something like that with Ebert since he can't talk (using recording of his voice). Its probably expensive though. How are you not going to be able to talk? Will you still be able to eat and taste?

Well I'll be able to make noises but not proper speech. Also may be able to use a voice box but FUCK THAT CREEPY SHIT.
 
My idea is to record every word in the dictionary and get some Stephen Hawkins shit going on. I'm definitely going to have to learn ASL so any gaffers who are fluent and would like to Skype or Facetime let me know.

I know this thread is a downer but honestly, I'm not that depressed. Probably since I know it's my own fault for smoking for so long.


Edit: I'm at work but will be checking tread periodically.

I'm really sorry to hear that.

As for the recording idea, it can work somewhat well. You may want to record some general phrases too. Recording individual words only gets you weird things like Mario Teaches Typing where the sentences sound so weird because the tone of individual words is off.

Good luck for ASL.

Also, don't let people think that you're retarded just because you can't speak. Such people exist, unfortunately.

I completely forgot about this perception. Yeah it's a real damn shame. Strangers might start treating you like a child, talking really slowly and loudly. Don't let it get to you.
 
That sucks man. Really. I don't know what to say, or how I'd cope to be honest. Hope this won't affect your job.

EDIT: Do those microphone to the neck things work without much use of the tongue?
 

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
What the fuck, tongue cancer? I've never even thought of that. I suppose that's a better prognosis than lung cancer in terms of your overall health. Sorry to hear it man. But yeah you have options thanks to technology so I would definitely try and record some words and such while you can, maybe some generic phrases.

EDIT: Shit I didn't think of the taste thing. Man...
 

Borgnine

MBA in pussy licensing and rights management
Sorry man. But with today's smartphones and apps and stuff, now is probably the best time to get tongue cancer. Your life probably won't change that much.
 

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Wow, sorry to hear about this man.

I can only imagine it'd be a pretty shocking development.

But I would do what you are doing - investigate all the options and available tech. Record as much of your voice as possible, as it might be possible in the future to sample this for an artificial voice that might be more or less indistinguishable. Who knows what's coming.

But yeah, try and keep your chin up. Reach out to friends and family, talk to them about how you feel about it. I imagine there's a bit of a grieving process when something like this happens.
 

Raguel

Member
It's possible that it could spread to the lymph nodes.




Well I'll be able to make noises but not proper speech. Also may be able to use a voice box but FUCK THAT CREEPY SHIT.

always the damn lymph nodes. fuck cancer. but yeah, record as many phrases and words and messages as you can. I would record a message to as many of my family and friends (even though i sound like a little 10 year old asian girl). Stay strong buddy.
 

AlteredBeast

Fork 'em, Sparky!
Was this related to any smoking or chewing tobacco for sure? Losing your ability to speak would suck, for sure. Sorry dude.

I wish people would wise up early on and not smoke/quit smoking. It is so cool, though. :(
 

brumx

Member
will suck alot if it happens voice box are the most fragile part of a body a little mess with it can F up your whole body for good.
 
Shit, dude. Really sorry to hear that. I hope it doesn't come down to that scenario and they can find a way to at least preserve your speech.

I've been smoking for almost three years now and this is giving me some major motivation to quit. Fuuuuuuuck...
 

AlteredBeast

Fork 'em, Sparky!
Shit, dude. Really sorry to hear that. I hope it doesn't come down to that scenario and they can find a way to at least preserve your speech.

I've been smoking for almost three years now and this is giving me some major motivation to quit. Fuuuuuuuck...

No it won't, unfortunately.
 

Pastry

Banned
Shit, dude. Really sorry to hear that. I hope it doesn't come down to that scenario and they can find a way to at least preserve your speech.

I've been smoking for almost three years now and this is giving me some major motivation to quit. Fuuuuuuuck...

I'v been smoking for six years. Only really heavy for four years though an I feel the same : /
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
It might be cool to record your voice, not for the Stephen Hawking thing, but just for some piece of prose. Saying whatever, I dunno. Something to hear a long time from now.
 

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
I'm curious how this would affect us in our daily life. At first I thought it might not be that bad given that I'm more introspective in person anyway. But I think it would be a lot heavier a penalty than my imagination gives it credit for. What does GAF think it would be like to not be able to speak?
 
It might be cool to record your voice, not for the Stephen Hawking thing, but just for some piece of prose. Saying whatever, I dunno. Something to hear a long time from now.

Agreed. Recording messages to loved ones would be awesome. Or like.. something for them to play at your funeral long after they have forgotten your voice. It would be an instant tear inducer.
 

Kinitari

Black Canada Mafia
Hopefully the diagnosis isn't so severe and you'll be able to keep some speech ability.

That being said, you're dealing with the possibility pretty well, and I wish you luck regardless.
 

Evolved1

make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
Why ASL? Isn't that primarily for the deaf? Seems like that would be a ton of work for limited return... limited to those who know ASL.

To communicate with most people, this wouldn't get you very far. You can hear, see, and have all your motor skills... there might be a better communication solution for your situation.

ASL is pretty cool though... not knocking it, just saying.
 

ronito

Member
How healthy are you otherwise.
I had an oral cancer scare a while back
Turns out that as my doctor said, "Humans are just bumpy creatures."
If you're otherwise healthy and don't smoke/chew tobacco chances of you getting oral cancer is actually very low.

There is still some hope. However, if your doctor has tried everything else you might be in for a bad diagnosis.

However, when I went through my little oral cancer scare I did find plenty of people that had survived it, and were living healthy lives. It turns out that most oral cancers are very treatable. Hang in there!
 

andycapps

Member
Agreed. Recording messages to loved ones would be awesome. Or like.. something for them to play at your funeral long after they have forgotten your voice. It would be an instant tear inducer.

That is actually a really good idea.

Sorry to the OP. I don't know anything about sign language. My wife does but it's been years since she's used it regularly and she says a lot has changed since she learned it.
 

Esch

Banned
I think I would record messages for my friends and loved ones. Something for now and something for your will.

Edit: beaten, goddamnit
 
Well wishes, prayers. It wont even get to that points, Drs can even be wrong sometimes. My mother had 3 kids including me, non of us was susposed to be born.
 

TheContact

Member
I'd rather lose my voice than my ears or my eyes. Not speaking can be alleviated in so many other mediums, like this one =D

You'll def need to learn sign language. It's not that hard to pick up actually.
 

Emitan

Member
That sucks :(

Really hoping it's not the case. Don't know you or anything but I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone.
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Omfg, I'm so sorry man...
 

Aurongel

Member
I wish you the absolute best of luck, I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to live without one of my key senses.
 

Al-ibn Kermit

Junior Member
At least most of the "taste" of food is sensed in your sinuses. And robotic voice tech is just getting better and better so hopefully it's not too big of an adjustment.

Agreed. Recording messages to loved ones would be awesome. Or like.. something for them to play at your funeral long after they have forgotten your voice. It would be an instant tear inducer.

No that's horrible. It'll just make them feel worse to get a reminder of the suffering he went through in his life after he's dead.
 

verbum

Member
From 2003:

The world's first human tongue transplant has been successfully carried out by doctors in Austria.

Surgeons at Vienna's General Hospital carried out the 14-hour operation on a 42-year-old patient on Saturday. The patient had a malignant tumour in his mouth that meant his tongue had to be removed. The patient is doing well, confirmed the doctors at a press conference on Tuesday.

Rolf Ewers, who lead the team, says he hopes that with his new tongue the patient should be able to talk and eat as normal. However, his sense of taste is unlikely to be restored, Ewers told the BBC.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3964-first-human-tongue-transplant-successful.html

Read about some others done since then.
I hope everything turns out well with your surgery and treatment. Well wishes and prayers to you.
 
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