Medical news from The Chaim Society: A voice worth saving

The men and women who come to my clinic arrive carrying a particular species of fear, and rightly so. A diagnosis of oropharyngeal cancer, a malignancy of the tonsils and the base of the tongue, threatens the very region that renders us most human. It is here that we form words, taste, swallow, and smile. When a patient learns that a tumor has taken root in this small and sacred territory, the questions beneath their questions are rarely statistical, but these: Will I still sound like myself? Will I share a meal with my children? Will I recite the blessing on Friday evening?

For most of the la...