Steve and his son enjoy playing in a golf tournament together.

工作压力给史蒂夫带来了沉重的负担，他的体重急剧增加，他称之为“战斗和游戏体重”.” He often didn’t feel well.

In November of 2007 he developed a sore throat. “我没有太注意它，因为我似乎总是在每年的这个时候感冒或失声,” the life-long northern Virginia resident says. A week later, 他不仅感到喉咙痛，而且感觉喉咙里好像卡了一块食物. After several trips to his primary care physician, he was referred to an otolaryngologist (also known as an ENT).

Using a scope (a small thin camera) to see down his throat, they discovered a golf ball-sized tumor at the base of his tongue. 一周后的活检结果证实了最坏的情况——史蒂夫得了癌症.

这些天，史蒂夫回来做很多他喜欢的事情，包括钓鱼.

Stifling Cancer’s Stronghold

It took a while for that to sink in. My first thought was, ‘Holy crap, I’m going to die. I’m too young for this,’” Steve says. 他想到了他的妻子和他们的两个孩子，然后他的想法转变为行动. “OK, how do I fix this?” he recalls. 当他坐在耳鼻喉科医生面前向他报告诊断结果时，这整个想法在几秒钟内闪过他的脑海.

Steve, who had never smoked, had HPV+ cancer at the base of his tongue. 在放射科医生的照顾下，他接受了放化疗，并安装了喂食管和医疗端口. 他的治疗包括三次双剂量化疗(每三周治疗一次)和35次放射治疗(每天20分钟), five days a week).

在四个月的放化疗中，史蒂夫减掉了85磅，无法吞咽. He was referred to a speech-language pathologist, “After the treatments, it looked like the tumor was gone,” Steve remembers. But sadly, by that summer, the cancer returned.

Nine months after receiving his cancer diagnosis, 史蒂夫的耳鼻喉科和放射科医生把他推荐给头颈癌专家 Christine Gourin, M.D. 史蒂夫唯一的生存选择是切除他的舌头和几个被癌症吞噬的淋巴结. Together, Dr. Gourin and facial reconstructive surgeon Kofi Boahene, M.D.他切除了他的舌头，用大腿肌肉上的一块皮瓣代替了这块组织.

"This was a tough one to take. Knowing I'd never speak or sing again... recovery was hard."

在他康复后，史蒂夫继续享受与他的乐队演奏音乐. 虽然他不会唱歌，但偶尔会一边弹吉他一边假唱.

史蒂夫在康复中心待了几天，由医学博士卡罗尔·马拉戈斯(Carol Maragos)照顾.S.N., C.R.N.P., C.N.O.R., and Alyson Stolba, R.N. “他们和其他工作人员对我和我的家人都很好,” Steve remembers.

Two weeks later, after reviewing Steve’s test results, Dr. 古林带来了不幸的消息:史蒂夫还需要切除喉部. “This was a tough one to take. 知道我再也不能说话或唱歌了，这对我来说很难. He had always been the one with a story, joke or a song.

He underwent additional surgery to remove his larynx. “Recovery was hard,” he recalls. 从一个能卧推320磅的人，到不能把手臂举过头顶，有时, even hold his head up straight — was taxing. It was also difficult for his wife and kids. “I hated to see them have to see me that way,” he says. 但过不了几天，他的家人又开始取笑他，为他糟糕的笔迹感到悲伤——这是一个可喜的恢复正常的过程.

A New Normal

Over time, Steve regained much of his strength.

A lot has changed, but mostly life is the same. “I feel healthier than before,” he reflects.

史蒂夫和他的儿子在2015年8月去跳伞，就在他儿子去上大学之前.

老朋友还在，史蒂夫也结交了很多新朋友. 他失去了声音，但通过一款将输入文本转换为语音的应用程序，他可以轻松地表达自己的意思, “And when I’m mad I just type in all caps,” he jokes. 他仍然可以吃所有他喜欢的食物，只要他只吃一小口，每一口都用液体洗干净. 然而，他更喜欢用搅拌机把大部分食物磨碎，因为这样他能吃得更多. Steve eats everything from steak to cereal this way.

Steve’s had to make other modifications to his life as well. “我不能用吸管吸水，也不能擤鼻涕，”他说. He breathes through a stoma, so he can’t go swimming without risk of drowning, “but I don’t snore and Kim loves this,” he says, referring to his loving wife of over 30 years. His golf game has improved and Steve plays guitar for a band. They play shows for more than 200 people in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Steve and his son Peter even went skydiving together last year. “我真的相信得了癌症救了我的命——我知道这听起来很奇怪，但我相信确实如此,” Steve says.

Dr. 史蒂夫康复后，古林和史蒂夫在办公室合影留念.

“[Dr. 古尔林和霍普金斯救了我的命，我和我的家人永远感激他们，”他说. 史蒂夫经常与头颈癌患者交谈:“这是我能做的最起码的事情，传递或回报它.” He’s developed friendships with many of these people, along with his care team at Johns Hopkins, with whom he’s often texting or emailing. He is a regular fixture in Dr. 她为那些正在接受治疗的人提供指导、同情和幽默. “He is amazing,” Dr. Gourin beams.

史蒂夫在他和他的乐队演出的音乐会上与金·韦伯斯特和卡罗尔·马拉戈斯合影. 在他的旅途中，许多照顾他的人都成了好朋友.

“他们和其他工作人员对我和我的家人都很好."

Learn more about head and neck cancer.