Retiree looked forward to family time – then cancer stole his voice

KUALA LUMPUR: At age 63, retirement was supposed to be Kamaruzaman Abdul Rahim’s chance to enjoy a quieter life with his wife, two children and grandchildren – chatting, joking and making up for lost time.

Instead, laryngeal cancer robbed him of his voice.

Today, Kamaruzaman relies on a special voice device to communicate with the people he loves. What made the diagnosis even more shocking was that he had never smoked.

“I was truly surprised when I found out,” he told FMT. “I always thought this type of cancer affected smokers or people who drink alcohol – neither of which I did.

“I’ve never smoked, and neither has anyone else in my family,” he stressed, suggesting that it might have been caused by environmental factors, such as being around friends who smoked.

Kamaruzaman’s ordeal began when he was 57, when his voice remained hoarse for more than two weeks and gradually became weaker. Further examinations revealed stage-2 laryngeal cancer.

Although he initially underwent laser surgery, the cancer returned, forcing doctors to remove his entire voice box.

Rather than letting the disease define him, Kamaruzaman chose to focus on moving forward.

“I don’t feel depressed. I’ve accepted this wholeheartedly because of the support from my family, friends and doctors,” said Kamaruzaman, who is now the president of the Malaysian Laryngectomee Association, which supports others facing the same journey.

According to Dr Nadhirah Shakri from the department of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, cigarette smoke contains chemicals known to trigger the development of cancer cells.

“Most of our patients are either smokers or passive smokers. We have patients who have never smoked but were exposed to cigarette smoke from their husbands or colleagues, and eventually developed laryngeal cancer,” she said.

“Vaping has also become a growing concern. However, cigarettes are already known to contain chemicals such as formaldehyde that can trigger the formation of cancer cells.”

According to Nadhirah, patients with cancer detected early can often be treated with laser surgery or radiotherapy without having to remove the voice box.

However, delayed treatment might allow the tumour to grow large enough to obstruct breathing, making removal of the entire voice box unavoidable.

Patients who undergo the procedure lose their natural voice, experience changes in swallowing, and breathe permanently through an opening in the neck known as a stoma.

Nadhirah warned that laryngeal cancer is often painless, causing many people to dismiss the symptoms until the disease has progressed.

“If your voice remains hoarse for more than two weeks, don’t ignore it. See a specialist because only an examination using a scope can reveal the true condition of the voice box.”

Learning to speak again

For Latib Rabu, who once smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day, the diagnosis brought overwhelming emotional distress.

“I started smoking when I entered university in 1972 and continued until 2015. At the time, smoking was considered normal.

“After the doctor confirmed I had cancer, I became deeply depressed. For several months, I struggled to accept it,” said the former mechanical engineer.

The 72-year-old quit smoking immediately after receiving the diagnosis and resigned from his job to focus on treatment and surgery.

After the operation, he lived in silence for three months before learning to speak again with an electrolarynx, the device that produces a robotic voice.

Elsewhere, 63-year-old Lim Eng Chuan also thought he had left smoking behind. Close to a decade after quitting, however, the father of two was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer.

Although the disease was detected early, it later returned, forcing doctors to remove his entire voice box in 2018.

“But it didn’t stop there. The cancer came back a third time in my trachea, and there was also a 3cm tumour in my lung. I had to undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy at the same time. It was truly agonising,” he said.

In January, Lim was diagnosed with cancer for a fourth time and is currently undergoing another six rounds of chemotherapy.

Having endured these painful experiences, both men hope younger generations will stay away from cigarettes and vaping, warning that both can have lifelong consequences.