ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 11, 1996 TAG: 9605130030
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
A SURGEON TEAMS UP with a speech pathologist to publish a "breakthrough" publication.
Alfred Wickline recovered from the operation that removed his cancerous larynx and soon was back with his golfing buddies at the country club and taking driving trips.
On one such trip, the Princeton, W.Va., florist ended up in Salem near lunchtime. Without his voice box, Wickline realized he couldn't order food in a restaurant. And he didn't trust his handwriting as a means of communication.
Wickline went to a grocery store and bought potted meat, vienna sausage and crackers. From then on, he's kept a food cache in the car, he said.
But the experience convinced him he had to learn to talk again, which he did with the help of Roanoke Valley speech-language pathologist Patricia Peters.
For a year, Wickline used an electrolarynx, a device that creates a mechanical-sounding, monotone voice. After that, he decided to master esophageal speech, a method of creating sounds with burps of air. Both methods of speaking are explained in detail in "The Source for Laryngectomy," a book Peters co-authored with Dr. William Dichtel, the Roanoke otolaryngologist - head and neck surgeon - who operated on Wickline's throat.
Wickline's not in their book, but they say he's the type of patient - a busy, outgoing person plunged suddenly into silence - that they had in mind when they wrote it, Peters said.
The publication is being called a breakthrough by LinguiSystems Inc., the East Moline, Ill., publisher that markets it.
It marks the first time a doctor had teamed with a speech-language pathologist for LinguiSystems' series of handbooks relating to specific disorders, said Nancy McConnell, the company's marketing coordinator.
Dichtel's willingness to participate in the book confirms that the medical profession sees the benefit of having a speech-language pathologist involved as soon as the patient is diagnosed, she said.
LinguiSystems has been creating materials for speech pathologists for 18 years. It recently moved into publications for the managed-care market, where the Peters-Dichtel effort has found a niche audience, McConnell said.
The health-care industry now demands that employees be cross-trained so they can provide a variety of services, and many workers find themselves in need of practical information about how to deal with a greater variety of patient problems, McConnell said.
The sourcebook for patients with cancer of the larynx explains the anatomy of the larynx and neck and how speech happens. It discusses the types of cancer that can occur in the larynx and the patient's surgical options, and even advises the health-care worker what to discuss with the patient and when to discuss it.
It also reviews options for speaking after treatment, and includes materials to help.
There are practice sections on vowels, words, phrases and sentences as well as log pages for keeping a record of practice time. There are also logs for the health-care professional to use to keep records of contacts with a patient.
Peters suggested the book to the publisher more than four years ago. She and Dichtel have worked together with patients, and she wanted the surgeon as a co-author so that the book could cover clinical issues.
She has never seen an operation on a larynx.
Yet the faster a person can regain some speech after treatment, the better, Peters said.
"The Source for Laryngectomy" is Peters' 13th publication for LinguiSystems. She is co-author of a series, called HELP - "Handbook of Exercises for Language Processing." That series, which started in 1980, has been a consistent seller, with more than 100,000 copies sold in its first decade. The HELP series is designed to help professionals work with all ages, from children with learning disabilities to older people who have been impaired by strokes.
The latest book, published in October, is selling well, McConnell said, although she wouldn't share sales figures. It costs $37.95, plus shipping charges from LinguiSystems, (800)776-4332.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Patient Alfred Wickline meets withby CNBDr. William Dichtel and Patricia Peters.