You may experience a lot of different emotions if you've been told you need a laryngectomy, or the surgical removal of the voice box to treat larygeal cancer. You may also have a lot of questions, such as:

What will I look like? Will people stare? Will they be afraid to talk to me?  How am I going to communicate?  Will people be able to understand me?  How will this affect my daily life?  Will I be able to...

After my double mastectomy in 2002, I vividly remember running on the beach and hearing some teenagers making fun of my child-like figure. Their remarks hurt deeply.

Even though I went on to have my breast reconstruction surgery 29 long months later, I remained sensitive about my body image. Still, I thought I could handle all my emotions.

Then, when I completed my treatments and my oncologist told me he’d see me again in...