Michael begins by sharing his story. He talks being initially being diagnosed with oral cancer in the late 1990s, and how scary that was. When his cancer recurred in the past year, his local doctor didn’t think he had much of a chance with surgery. Michael chose to seek out other option and ended up at Northwestern with Dr. Pelzer and Dr. Fine. He talks about his surgery, treatment and recovery. He shares how he’s doing now and why he’s thankful for the care he received at Northwestern.

Drs. Pelzer and Fine do an excellent job explaining, in tandem, the ins-and-outs of surgery, why it’s necessary and how they are working to give the best quality of life possible post-treatment. Not everyone is a candidate for surgery but they explain who is and how they manage expectations of patients by counseling them both before and after surgery. The doctors also answer questions from listeners about osteoradionecrosis, biopsies and post-surgery issues. If you have questions about surgery for head/neck and oral cancers, these experts and an inspiring patient are sure to provide you with insight and information you can’t get anywhere else. Listen now.

In the fall of 2004, Melvin noticed an irritation on the inside of his check that caused a lot of pain and discomfort. His doctor did a biopsy and Melvin was told to “just live with it.” Melvin would not take no for an answer and sought out a specialist. He met with Dr. Futran and was diagnosed with a malignant tumor under his tongue. The tumor was removed just two weeks after it was found, but unfortunately, two years later, another irritation developed in the gum line about an inch away from where the other tumor had been. Melvin underwent reconstructive surgery, where they removed a section of flesh from his leg and inserted that in his jawbone. Melvin credits Dr. Futran with saving his life. Melvin made a deal with God, in his own words, “If you put me back together again, I will spend 80% of my time helping other people.” Today, Melvin enjoys spending time with his granddaughter Madison and giving a helping hand to others in need.

Learn how these complex surgeries are restoring speech, swallowing and appearance for head and neck cancer patients. In Dr. Futran’s own words, “my goal as a head and neck cancer surgeon is actually to be put out of business by the advances we are making to make these cancers go away potentially without surgery so that patients could have even better function than what we can restore now.”