'I was a professional singer - but cancer took my voice box'

Life before 2020 was normal for Tanja Bage, a fit and active working mother-of-two. But it was not a global pandemic that changed Bage's life that year – instead a cancer diagnosis that stole her voice.

A professional singer and actress, Bage, from Leeds, has spent much of her adult life on the stage performing in theatre productions. Her voice was one of her greatest assets and a huge part of her identity.

Singing remains her passion, but she now performs without a voice box since hers was removed during treatment.

Bage had a total laryngectomy, which also repositioned her airway, after being diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma - cancer of the salivary glands - six years ago, when she was 38.

It came two years after her primary symptom, breathlessness, began.

Throughout her pregnancy with her second child, Bage noticed herself becoming short of breath and wheezing in a way that was noticeable to those around her.

She was given chest X-rays and her blood oxygen levels were normal. The breathlessness continued for the next two years as she desperately tried to get answers from doctors.

By this point, she was struggling to present work to colleagues at Asda and read to her young children, and her voice would be hoarse by the end of each day.

"By January 2020, I knew it wasn't normal, but doctors still hadn't worked out what it was, and I didn't think it was cancer.

"I remember seeing my GP and he did all the usual observations. He said my blood pressure was fine, my chest sounded clear…but that time he said: 'I'm going to listen to your neck'. He said he thought I had an upper airway obstruction".

Eventually, doctors discovered a tumour on the outside of Bage's windpipe, gradually pushing against it as it grew. By March that year, she was given the news of her diagnosis and just a week later, her voice box was removed.

Bage said: "That week before my surgery, the thing going through my head was: 'I'm going to lose my voice, I'm going to lose my natural speaking voice'.

"All the things you do with children in the middle of the night, like singing them lullabies, I was just thinking that would be taken away from me. Your voice is such a huge part of your identity".

A speech valve was fitted inside Bage's throat during her surgery. She has a stoma and a small filter is attached to her throat, which she presses to enable her to speak.

Still in her hospital bed, Bage came across the Shout at Cancer choir, whose members have all undergone a laryngectomy.

Bage emailed its founder and soon found herself joining Zoom rehearsals as lockdown restrictions were still in force. Fast forward six years, the choir has taken Bage to the international stage – and she is still performing with them now.

"I think it really helped me to process everything. We've done performances across Europe, we were at the Royal Opera House in London last year.

"I feel like I'm doing way more performatively than I was before. I was performing in theatres in Leeds and Bradford, and now I've been on stage in theatres in London. It's been incredible, really".

In 2023, Bage was told the cancer had returned and spread to her liver, spine and pelvis. Following a routine check this year, doctors found five new tumours had developed in her liver - and no further treatment options were available to her.

She is now preparing to tackle the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge today in aid of two cancer charities: Salivary Gland Cancer UK and The Ella Project, which supports people affected by salivary gland cancers and funds vital research.

What began as just friends and family has now grown to a group of 100 people joining Bage on her 24-mile (38.6km) challenge. She has already raised more than her £20,000 target, but hopes to continue raising awareness.

"It can literally happen to anybody – you don't know what's around the corner. For me, the surgery has been life-changing, but it's not all bad.

"It's been a mindset thing; you can continue to carry on and have a nice life that's filled with happiness and joy. I'm dealing with cancer but I'm not letting that become my identity".

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