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When I had an earache for a couple of weeks in August 2007 and couldn¡¯t sleep on my right side for very long, I went to my primary care doctor. She told me I had an ear infection. I was given antibiotics and sent home. After a few weeks, I noticed a knot in my cheek, and it got even harder to sleep.

I thought something else was wrong.

My salivary cancer diagnosis

I was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a type of salivary cancer on Oct. 10, 2007. I was emotional about my diagnosis, but I knew that I needed a plan to move forward.

I received my diagnosis at another hospital, but I felt like I needed to go elsewhere for treatment. I wanted to feel confident in my care and know that my doctors cared about me as a person. My husband asked me, ¡°Why aren¡¯t we getting you treated at MD Anderson?¡±

As an MD Anderson employee, he knew I¡¯d receive attentive and specialized care. MD Anderson, he said, would give me the best chance to survive.

My salivary cancer treatment at MD Anderson

I first met with my MD Anderson care team on Oct. 29.

On Dec. 6, I underwent a tracheostomy and mouth reconstruction to remove my tumors and rebuild the floor of my mouth.

Before my surgery, I was a nervous wreck. I really appreciated physician assistant Rolando De Luna for how calm he kept me. He talked to me for 45 minutes the night before to help me get into the right mindset.

After I had three tumors removed, my plastic surgeon, , took tissue from my left forearm to create a flap in my mouth where the tumors were taken out. I lost my voice for a few weeks.

About a month later, I started six weeks of daily radiation therapy under the care of .

After my radiation therapy sessions, I headed to physical therapy to rebuild strength in my mouth and neck, and speech therapy to learn how to talk again.

During that time, I used a dry erase board to write down my feelings and communicate with my family and doctors. I also wrote jokes to keep things lighthearted.

My family was my always there for me

From the time I was diagnosed, I was blessed to have an amazing support system ¨C especially in my husband and daughter. Both of them were a godsend.

My husband Michael reassured me that things would be OK. My daughter Chelsea, who was 16 at the time, helped me watch out when I was eating things that might hurt my jaw and throat. She also did housework without me even asking. Before my diagnosis, she was living with her dad, but cancer brought her back into my life. That¡¯s one of the things I¡¯m most thankful for.

Hope even with a recurrence

In 2014, the knot in my cheek came back. Thankfully, it¡¯s benign, but I return to MD Anderson every year to monitor it. It helps that I now work at MD Anderson, so I can easily come to my yearly appointments.

Life is a little rough with cancer, but my experience made me appreciate my life and the people in it more.

I have three new grandsons and new perspectives that have helped me grow and learn how to be a better mom. I celebrate everything that can be celebrated. Everything is just a lot brighter.

When you find out you have cancer, it¡¯s like you lose your breath. But now I can tell cancer, ¡°You did not get me. I got you.¡±

or by calling 1-877-632-6789.

I resisted getting a feeding tube for as long as I could. I knew I¡¯d have to use one eventually, but I didn¡¯t feel ready for a long time. I was afraid it would make me a lesser person or less attractive, and I worried that it would completely change my lifestyle.

Now that I have one, I must admit: my lifestyle has changed. But I¡¯ve gotten used to nourishing myself this way, and I¡¯ve adjusted to eating seven times a day, instead of two or three.

Today, I use my feeding tube as an education tool. I don¡¯t draw unnecessary attention to myself, but I¡¯ve started eating out in public more. I¡¯ll sit near the back of a room and have a tray on my lap under the table. Sometimes, my 4-year-old grandson helps depress the syringe. And if someone asks me questions, I explain what I¡¯m doing and why. I think it's a great learning opportunity. Because I do still eat, I just eat differently.

A salivary gland cancer diagnosis finally forced my hand

I started having real problems eating and swallowing in 2000, about 15 years after I received chemotherapy and radiation for stage III nasopharyngeal carcinoma (a rare type of throat cancer). I¡¯d often choke, and had to figure out ways to cough up pills or food that got stuck in my throat.

I had a feeding tube installed in February 2016 to supplement my diet. But I wasn¡¯t using it regularly, and I kept on losing weight. Eventually, I was diagnosed with cancer-induced cachexia, or wasting disease. My body simply wasn¡¯t getting enough nutrients.

In April, I started aspirating (or getting in my lungs by accident) some of what I ate and drank, too. I developed pneumonia as a result, and fought that infection for five months. I knew I had to start using my feeding tube exclusively or I was going to die. But it took being diagnosed with stage II salivary gland cancer in September 2016 to finally force my hand.

The decision to embrace my feeding tube

By this point, all of my meals were already being pureed in a blender. I¡¯d been drinking them for months. But I started using my feeding tube exclusively on Sept. 20, 2016. Here¡¯s why.

It was my 49^th birthday, and I¡¯d just been to see , at MD Anderson. I thought I was just having my annual checkup. But Dr. Weber discovered a new tumor in my salivary gland on the left side of my jaw. He recommended surgery to remove it, which meant I¡¯d be receiving all of my meals through a tube anyway. So, I went ahead and made the decision. I haven¡¯t had any food or drinks by mouth in 14 months. I most likely never will again.

My biggest challenge today

Since then, my biggest challenge has been finding a liquid food that my body can tolerate. I was mainly a vegetarian before I was diagnosed with cancer the second time, but most meal replacements involve some type of meat protein. I¡¯ve tried a few with salmon or chicken, but they just don¡¯t agree with me. For the first four months of tube feeding, I had diarrhea after every meal. That stopped eventually, but I¡¯m still excited to be trying a new product soon. It¡¯s made from lots of organic vegetables.

I do still miss the taste of some foods, but this is my reality, so I¡¯ve accepted it. I¡¯m just happy to be alive, and I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to survive. Now, I try to find pleasure in the scents of certain things, like bacon frying or Mexican food cooking. I still love going out to eat with friends and family. I just take my food with me and eat under the table.

Mostly, I don't want people to feel sorry for me. Because I'm eating just like you are. I just do it a little differently.

or by calling 1-877-632-6789.

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I¡¯ve been struggling to make myself understood ever since I was a senior in high school. In April 1985, I was diagnosed with stage III nasopharyngeal carcinoma (a rare type of throat cancer). And for a while, my throat was so raw and painful from the radiation treatments I received that I didn¡¯t want to talk.

Those radiation treatments gave my voice a very ¡°nasal¡± quality, too, so it was sometimes hard for people to understand me when I finally did start talking again. Around the year 2000, I started having more trouble speaking due to the radiation treatments I¡¯d received as a teenager. It became even more challenging in September 2016, when I was diagnosed with stage II salivary gland cancer. I had surgery and more radiation to treat that. Today, I am cancer-free, but I¡¯m still struggling to be heard.

Learning new ways to communicate

Speech without proper tongue movement is almost impossible. And speech therapy doesn¡¯t help much when your tongue isn¡¯t fully functional. So I carry a notepad with me wherever I go, and sometimes, a dry erase board. Because after the last round of surgery ¡ª during which removed part of my right thigh muscle and two arteries from my left hand/wrist to repair my neck ¡ª the back, right-hand side of my tongue stopped working.

I can still talk aloud, but my speech is becoming even harder to understand, and Dr. Weber says it will likely continue to deteriorate. So, when a person can¡¯t figure out what I¡¯m trying to say, I just take a deep breath and write it down.?Talking on the phone is almost impossible, so I text a lot, too. And I¡¯m thinking about learning American Sign Language, since I already sign, ¡°I love you,¡± to my son and grandsons.

Why I¡¯m sharing my story

Sharing my story is how I feel I can best use my voice to make a difference right now. So I¡¯m telling it here and connecting with other cancer survivors online. I started a social media support group in Ellis County in September 2017. It currently has 63 members, and some of them don't even live in Texas.

Most group members send me private messages to ask questions. I try to be their cheerleader and offer encouragement. And if they ask me something I don't know anything about, like breast cancer, I'll ask another member to step up and answer their questions.?

Counting my blessings

I¡¯ve always tried to stay positive throughout my cancer treatment, because the truth is I am blessed. My doctors told me I¡¯d probably never have children, but I got pregnant in early 1992. My son, Layne, was born that October. He¡¯s 25 now and has given me two wonderful grandsons: Gavin and Gaige.

The cumulative effect of my cancer treatments has left me unable to swallow properly. So, I haven¡¯t eaten or drunk anything by mouth in 14 months. Even water makes me choke. And speech continues to be a challenge.

But I look at it this way: I¡¯m still alive. And I¡¯m better off than a lot of other people. I have a fabulous family and really good friends. I am truly blessed.

I¡¯m not sure what my current purpose is. But I do know I will find my way. And if, by going through this, I can help other people, it will all be worth it.

or by calling 1-877-632-6789.

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It¡¯s difficult to say that someone is ¡°the best¡± at something, especially when it comes to sports. How do you determine the No. 1 golfer? Since it¡¯s based on performance, it might be one person this week, and a different one the next.

But when it comes to cancer treatment, I think there¡¯s a clear leader: MD Anderson. I¡¯d always heard it was the No. 1 cancer treatment center in the world. But I don¡¯t think I really understood what that meant until I was diagnosed with stage IV salivary gland cancer in August 2015.

My salivary gland cancer diagnosis

I discovered I had cancer after going to my dermatologist about a little bump on my neck. It was just below my left ear, and I thought it was a swollen lymph node caused by a sinus infection.

But antibiotics didn¡¯t shrink it, and my dermatologist didn¡¯t like the look of it, so he sent me to a local head and neck specialist. That doctor ordered an MRI, which revealed a two-inch tumor on my parotid gland. It was wrapped around a major nerve that controls the facial muscles. I had stage IV mucoepidermoid carcinoma, a very rare type of salivary gland cancer.

How I came to MD Anderson

I was beyond fear when I got that news. A quick internet search showed the survival rates for my type of cancer were staggeringly bad. And mine was far enough advanced that even my specialist said I needed to go to a bigger cancer center for proper treatment. He referred me to a facility in Chicago, where I grew up. I had surgery there to remove the tumor and some nearby lymph nodes.

The procedure was complex, and I knew it might not be possible to get all the cancer out. So I asked my surgeon to focus more on preserving my sensory functions than on removing the cancer completely. As a person who watches other people play golf and talks about it on TV for a living, it¡¯s pretty critical for me to be able to speak and hear.

The surgeon did a great job. But he said it was like trying to remove a meatball from the bottom of a bowl of spaghetti, without damaging any of the noodles. Some remnants of the cancer had almost certainly been left behind. He said I needed proton therapy to kill it. Unfortunately, his facility didn¡¯t offer that treatment. So, I went to the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center.

Why I decided to have proton therapy

At MD Anderson, I met first with oncologist , radiation oncologist and surgeon to discuss my options. They said that chemotherapy may or may not be effective against my cancer, so I didn¡¯t pursue that. Radiation therapy might¡¯ve worked, too, but it may have prevented me from chewing my food normally, much less talking on live TV.

We all agreed that proton therapy was the best option. I had 31 treatments over a six-week period. I haven¡¯t had any problems with eating, speaking or swallowing since. And my dry mouth issues are so minor, I¡¯m almost embarrassed to mention them.

Why I¡¯m proud to be a part of the MD Anderson team

Treating cancer is a lot like playing golf, in that there are two stages to it: the planning and the execution. But whereas golf is an individual sport, cancer requires a team. Once I saw how good my MD Anderson team was at planning my treatment, I knew that their execution was going to be equally as good. So, it¡¯s no surprise that the care I received was second to none.

I¡¯m now approaching my third anniversary of being cancer-free. And not a day goes by that I don't think about that. But every day is an anniversary for me. Just getting up in the morning and realizing the second chance I¡¯ve been given makes me appreciate life all the more.

I¡¯m convinced the reason I¡¯m still here is because of MD Anderson¡¯s team approach. Seeing first-hand how well its doctors work together gives me a sense of pride ¡ª not just to be a cancer survivor, but to be a part of the team that¡¯s Making Cancer History?.

or by calling 1-877-632-6789.