Laryngectomee profile:
DAVE WILLIAMS
Before he went in for his op, Dave
Williams of Bristol didn’t know
what to expect. He thinks most
people would say the same – and
it’s not a nice feeling.
In his case, it all happened so
quickly. “I saw the consultant on
a Tuesday – after going to my GP
with a sore throat on and off for
eighteen months. The consultant
took one look and said I needed to
go into surgery that Friday!”
He felt numb. “It just hits you, I
can’t describe it. It feels like the
end of the world.” Dave quickly
decided against a course of
radiotherapy – a decision he
stands by. “I was told the odds of
the radiotherapy working were
14 THE VOICE | Summer 2013
20 to 30%. The odds on the op
working were 80%, so I went with
the op.”
He says it wasn’t that difficult
a decision. “Lots of people are
frightened of the op and then
go through hours of unpleasant
radiotherapy. One of my new
friends here was in the same
situation, except he chose
radiotherapy. Unfortunately he
still had to have the op. Most
people do”.
“I’m alive!”
Of course there were times when
Dave felt a bit ‘sorry for myself’
following the op, but the first
thing he did when he came round