'Get a second opinon' and 'toss those cigarettes,' says very vocal Addie resident

By Rose Hooper

Even with his larynx removed due to cancer, Gwin Allen, who lives on Jimmy Morris Road in Addie, remains a very vocal person. Using an electric neck larynx, he speaks to school students about the perils of cigarette smoking, talks to health care classes about his condition and counsels others who are going to have, or have just had, a laryngectomy. - Herald photo by Rose Hooper

Every chance he gets, this Addie resident speaks out on his two burning issues - getting a second medical opinion and helping young people stay off cigarettes.

Because he was smart enough to seek a second, and even third medical opinion, Allen was able to keep his larynx an additional seven years.

In 1988, doctors diagnosed Allen with cancer of the larynx, or voice box, brought on by 35 years of smoking non-filtered Camels and Parliaments.

"The radiation specialists here wanted to remove my larynx while the surgeons were saying try radiation. I went to a world-renowned pathologist at Chapel Hill, and he recommended either removal or radiation, but offered no hope of keeping my larynx," said Allen, who sought additional medical advice at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan.

"I used to live in Michigan," said this General Motors retiree, who felt comfortable with the hospital up north. Physicians there, including another world-renowned pathologist, performed their own biopsies and determined that laser surgery could save Allen's larynx.

The successful laser surgery allowed him to speak normally until 1994, "when the cancer just went crazy as all heck," and he wound up in Harris Regional Hospital emergency room.

"I couldn't breathe, and the doctors told me that I should have my larynx removed, but I was stubborn, said 'no,'" Allen said. "Meanwhile, they put in a trach tube so I could breathe better."

"For a while, I communicated by writing out my messages. Then my son (Burlin Allen Jr.) bought me a Cooper Rand electric mouth larynx. I was so happy I could make sounds again that I told my wife, Martha, "The picnic is over... I'm back!

"We make words with our mouth, teeth and jaws, the vocal cords just vibrate the sounds," Allen explained as he demonstrated his artificial sound vibrator. He also uses an electric neck larynx.

He's glad to have the sound, too, because he speaks frequently to students about the perils of tobacco use. Through an organization called Survivors and Victims of Tobacco Empowerment Project, Allen gives presentations to the public schools.

"Mostly I've spoken to high-schoolers, but we are arranging now to speak with those as young as sixth grade," he said.

He also speaks to those who are getting ready to have, or who have just had, a laryngectomy.

"Gwin has a knack for prompting people to talk, even when they don't want to," said his wife, Martha. "Like this one older lady, right after her surgery, he came in and asked her how old she was. She snapped back at him, 'Don't you know you aren't supposed to ask a lady her age?' 'Well, I got you to talking, didn't I?' he shot right back at her."

He also speaks to health care classes and graduating nurses. Donating his time is Allen's way of "giving back," he said.

Plus, it takes his mind off his own problems, like not being able to sing or whistle, laugh or cry out loud, blow his nose, blow up a balloon or even blow out a candle. Once an avid water skier, now he can't even get around water for fear of drowning though the opening in his neck.

"Gwin can't smell, and I worry about him being around poisons that he can't detect," said his wife.

"I have difficulty swallowing and constant neck cramps, but I'll tell you the worst part... and that's not even the helplessness of not being able to call out if someone is in danger. No, the hardest part is trying to hug your grandchildren and talk with one of these voice amplifiers at the same time."

In addition to son Burlin Jr., who lives in Jefferson City, Tenn., the couple has a daughter, Vicky Allen Hawkins of Crossville, Tenn., and four grandchildren, ranging in ages from 3 months to 5 years.

The Allens became members of the New Voice Club of Western North Carolina, where they meet and fellowship with other laryngectomees and their families.

"We learn a lot by meeting with each other. I learned from another laryngectomee that radiation can damage the thyroid. No physician had ever told me that," said Allen, who wears a filtering bib-like device over his stoma.

"You find yourself waiting to get better, but you know you won't," he said. "I am just thankful for those extra seven years of voice that I had before my larynx was removed."

Back to Archive: 07/19/01.