Dawn

Head and neck cancer: record your voice before surgery

A laryngectomy removes the voice box, and some tongue and throat surgery changes speech permanently. Before the operation, you can record a short sample so Dawn can make a voice for typed messages, and save whole phrases in your own voice.

Dawn's Create a voice screen on iPad: a short passage to read aloud and a Tap to record button

A total laryngectomy removes the voice box. Surgery for cancer of the tongue (glossectomy) or throat can also change speech permanently. To record your voice as it sounds now, record before the operation. In one study, people facing laryngectomy said losing their voice was what they feared most about the surgery.1

Making the voice

Dawn makes a voice from about eight seconds of reading, on your iPhone or iPad, in about half a minute. Listen to the result before surgery, and record again if it doesn't sound right. If you have time, record some phrases as well.

A checklist before surgery

  1. Make your voice. Settings, then Voice, then Create a personal voice. Read the passage in your normal voice, in a quiet room.
  2. Record phrases. Names, "I love you", the way you answer the phone. See ideas for what to record.
  3. Save hospital phrases. "I'm in pain." "Can you suction please?" "I can hear you, I just can't talk." Put them in the Phrases tab.
  4. Try it once. Type a sentence and play it.
  5. Back up. Settings, then Data & Backup, saves everything, including your voice and recordings, to a file you keep.
Dawn's Message banking screen on iPad with a record button and a saved phrase 'Love you loads'
Message banking. Recordings are saved to the Phrases tab.

After surgery

In the first days after the operation you can type or tap a saved phrase. In one study of patients after head and neck surgery, 84 percent of those who could use a customised iPad found it very or somewhat helpful.2 Dawn doesn't need Wi-Fi, so it works on the ward.

Later, many people learn to speak with a voice prosthesis, an electrolarynx or oesophageal speech. Your surgical team and speech and language therapist can tell you which suit you; ask them before the operation if you can.

Dawn's Type view on iPad with the message 'I have something to say.' above a large keyboard
The Type view.

Questions people ask

How long before surgery should I record?

As soon as you can, while your voice is as close to normal as possible. Dawn needs about eight seconds of reading to build a voice, so a short session is enough. If you can, record on a couple of different days and keep the take you like best.

My voice is already hoarse from the tumour. Is it worth it?

You can try a short recording and listen to the voice Dawn makes from it. If you don't like the result, Voice Studio can find the built-in voices nearest to your recording, which you can then adjust.

How does an app fit with a voice prosthesis or electrolarynx?

Many people learn to speak with one of these, and restoring a voice after laryngectomy has been linked with better quality of life.3 There's usually a gap after surgery before they work, and some people use an app alongside them, for example on phone calls.

Can I use it in hospital straight after the operation?

Dawn works without Wi-Fi. Set it up before you're admitted, and ask your care team how you might use it after surgery.

Sources

  1. Repova B, et al. Text-to-speech synthesis as an alternative communication means after total laryngectomy. Biomedical Papers of the Medical Faculty, Palacky University Olomouc, 2021. doi.org/10.5507/bp.2020.016
  2. Brunner TH, et al. Feasibility of an iPad to facilitate communication in postoperative patients with head and neck cancer. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 2018. doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2016.10.008
  3. Bourmand R, Olsson SE, Fijany A. Tracheoesophageal puncture and quality of life after total laryngectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology, 2024. doi.org/10.1002/lio2.70050
  • Voice bankingA voice built on the device from about eight seconds of your speech. Dawn's 900+ built-in voices can be adjusted too.
  • Message bankingRecord phrases in your own voice and play them back exactly as said, from the Quick Phrases board.
  • Ways to keep your voiceVoice banking, message banking and voice cloning compared, what each needs, and when to start.
  • Temporary voice lossFor voice rest, throat surgery, tracheostomy or recovery from intubation.

Try Dawn on iPhone or iPad

Symbols, typing and saved phrases, spoken in a natural voice. Dawn can also build a voice from about eight seconds of your own speech.

Requires iOS 17 or later.