Tongue Cancer Survivor Takes Top Chef Honors
On June 8, 2008, The James Beard Foundation named Grant Achatz the top chef in the United States.
Grant Achatz is the head chef at Alinea, an upscale Chicago restaurant recognized as the best in the country by Gourmet Magazine. He’s also a tongue cancer survivor.
Last July, Achatz, an otherwise healthy non-smoker, was diagnosed with advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma. The disease had already spread through approximately 70 percent of his tongue and he was classified Stage IV.
After consulting several top oncologists, the 34-year-old father was faced with a difficult choice: have three-quarters of his tongue cut out or try an alternative treatment approach being practiced at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He knew the alternative method would be painful, but it might preserve his tongue so he decided to give it a try.
The alternative method (called combination therapy) changes the standard order of treatment from surgery, radiation and chemotherapy to chemotherapy, radiation and possible surgery later. This approach is designed to shrink or possibly eliminate malignant tumors and lesions prior to performing surgery so more of an organ’s tissue can be spared.
The chef’s case is being handled by a medical team which specializes in trying to save organs rather than removing them. This team of doctors includes oncologist Everett Vokes, head-and-neck surgeon Elizabeth Blair, and radiologist Daniel Haraf. As one members of the team said,
“We were offering him six months of pure misery. But we were also telling him that there was a 70 percent chance that he would be cured.”
Daniel J. Haraf, MD
Medical Director, Radiation Oncology
University of Chicago Medical Center
Achatz did experienced serious side effects which included loss of appetite, difficulty swallowing, hair loss, and painful skin burns, but he remained determined. He even created exciting new recipes while he was getting chemotherapy infusions, and his friend sous-chef Jeff Picus helped out by tasting them with his own expert palate.
The chef’s choice appears to have paid off – he’s been cancer-free for five months and his sense of taste is starting to return.
If you’d like additional information on oral/mouth cancers, you can get it on the National Cancer Institute and the Oral Cancer Foundation web sites.
Source: Associated Press Article from FOX News
Related Links: The New Yorker; NapaValleyRegister.com; The American Dental Association; ImTooYoungForThis.org
Technorati Tags: head and neck cancer; rare diseases; glossectomy; second opinions
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