Joe Eszterhas started smoking at the age of 12 years old. As a screenwriter
of some of Hollywood’s biggest movies including – "Basic
Instinct," Jagged Edge," and Flashdance, Eszterhas not only
incorporated smoking into his movies…he believes he glamorized
it. Having been a lifelong "militant smoker," Eszterhas
was faced with a life altering choice when 18 months ago, he was diagnosed
with throat cancer at the Cleveland Clinic. Not only was he going
to have to quit smoking, but he would have to stop drinking as well
– another addiction he had acquired at the age of 14.
Ezsterhas had been experiencing some vocal problems and was told
by a doctor in Los Angeles that he had a "benign polyp,"
according to Eszterhas. But after a second opinion at the Cleveland
Clinic, Eszterhas was told that he not only had cancer but he might
require a surgery that would leave him unable to swallow and living
on a feeding tube. It was then that Eszterhas says he "made
a deal with God" to begin the daunting task of breaking an
addiction that he says, "is more powerful than heroin."
But luckily for Eszterhas, Dr. Marshall Strome, head of ENT at
the Cleveland Clinic and the only surgeon in the world to perform
a successful larynx (voice box) transplant, devised a surgery specifically
for Eszterhas that allowed him to swallow and now, to speak.
Doug Hicks, PhD, a speech pathologist at the Cleveland Clinic was
part of the team that helped oversee Ezsterhas’ post-operative
recovery and astonishing change of lifestyle.
Drs. Marshall Strome, Doug Hicks and wife, Naomi Ezsterhas will
also be on hand for part of the program to talk about Joe’s
journey from addiction to recovery and now advocacy. |
