‘I believed husky voice was due to singing but it surely was truly most cancers’
Mum of two Lucy Lodge first noticed a change in her voice while out doing karaoke with friends – but she never expected it was down to something so serious
A young mum of two was stunned to find out that the husky voice she’d initially brushed off as a side effect of too much karaoke, was actually a sign of cancer. Lucy Lodge was just 25 years old when she noticed something was wrong during a karaoke session, as she couldn’t hit the high notes she once could easily reach.
Working in sales, Lucy attributed the symptom to voice strain, but after receiving a nudge from a friend, she decided to seek medical advice. First diagnosed with laryngitis by her GP, Lucy suspected something more severe.
“It wasn’t sudden and happened over time,” she shared. “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”.
Her gut feeling pushed her towards further tests, which ultimately confirmed her worst fears: she had vocal cord cancer and needed intensive radiotherapy treatment. 37 gruelling sessions followed. “It was absolute agony,” recounted Lucy. “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 returned, more aggressive than before. “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 shared.
Upon waking from surgery, Lucy found herself unable to speak, pointing to her neck in confusion and fear.
“My mum said to me, ‘Lucy, they’ve had to.’ That’s when I realised.” Lucy had undergone a total laryngectomy – the removal of her voice box.. She recovered for 19 days in hospital, her neck held together by 72 staples.
Lucy, now 39, lives in Telford, Shropshire, with her new partner Simon and their children Keagan, 10, and Kody, one. She had to relearn how to speak using a tracheotomy button in her neck, which she admits, with wry humour, presents its own set of 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 joked. “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 is employed as an analyst for a pension company, needs to have her speaking valve replaced monthly or she can’t even drink water as it goes straight to her lungs.
Despite these hurdles, her confidence today is unshakeable. Lucy declared: “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 facing significant hurdles, Lucy is now ardently dedicated to raising awareness of throat cancer and the recovery process following a laryngectomy, especially amongst those who may not be familiar with such conditions. “Thirteen years ago, I had no idea this even existed,” she confessed.
Addressing common misconceptions, she elaborated: “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.”
