[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 164 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 17, 1999

  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to the attention of 
my colleagues in the House of Representatives a recent article about 
the wonderful medical advances at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 
Houston, Texas. The article tells the stories of two people, a young 
college student and the former Speaker of the House Jim Wright, dealing 
with cancer of the jaw and their experiences with this once 
debilitating disease. Their respective stories highlight the need to 
support our Nation's cancer centers and highlight how medical advances 
can truly give Americans hope where none previously existed.
  Reconstructing Lives by Mary Jane Schier--
  For 19-year old James Smith, the quality of survival from cancer of 
the jaw is paramount in order to pursue his dream of playing 
professional football.
  Smith is a junior majoring in health and human performance at McNeese 
State University in Lake Charles, LA, where he was an outstanding 
defensive tackle until diagnosed with a disease uncommon among 
teenagers.
  He and his family were stunned to learn in November 1998 that he had 
a tumor in his right mandible, the horseshoe-shaped bone that forms the 
lower jaw. the mandible, he knows, is the largest and strongest bone in 
the face.
  Smith was forced to take an extended timeout from the football team 
to begin the biggest challenge of his young life. Upon coming to M.D. 
Anderson, he joined a new team whose members are nationally ranked for 
treating head and neck cancers.
  The head coaches in the multidisciplinary treatment regimen that 
Smith received are Dr. Helmuth Goepfert and Dr. Geoffrey L. Robb, who 
chair the Department of Head and Neck Surgery and the Department of 
Plastic Surgery, respectively. For the coaches and their specialty 
colleagues, the common goal centers on removing patients, cancers and 
restoring optimal form and function.
  Smith's surgery 3 days before last Christmas involved cutting out his 
diseased jaw and reconstructing the mandible with bone and tissue taken 
from his left leg. Although he couldn't talk or eat his favorite pizza 
for a while, Smith says now, ``I'm getting stronger every day . . . and 
I'm eager to play again.''
  At the other end of the age spectrum is former U.S. House Speaker Jim 
Wright, who at age 76 also illustrates the importance of high quality 
in one's life.
  I've always been a talker, so I was a little concerned before the 
surgery that I wouldn't be able to talk well enough for people to 
understand me,'' confides Wright, a Fort Worth Democrat whose 34-year 
span in Congress was complete in 1989.
  During more than 13 hours of surgery at M.D. Anderson last March 12, 
Wright's cancerous right mandible, an adjacent segment of the tongue 
and eight teeth were removed, then a six inch piece of bone from his 
left leg was used to form a new jaw. Skin from his left thigh overlying 
the bone was also transplanted to replace part of his inside of his 
mouth and tongue and the external skin of his cheek.
  ``Believe me, I feel truly blessed,'' Wright says in a strong and 
clear voice.
  His gratitude has been enhanced by recalling how his father lost a 
jaw to cancer more than 30 years ago. ``There was no thought then of 
replacing it with bone from somewhere else in the body . . . (He) spent 
his last days with a facial disfigurement that was the mark then of 
many cancer victims,'' Wright remembers.
  This was Wright's second bout with an oral cancer. In 1991, he had 
surgery at M.D. followed by radiation treatments. Since his latest 
extensive surgery, he has resumed most of his favorite activities, 
including writing a regular newspaper column and, of course, ``talking 
with anyone who'll listen.''
  Intensive collaboration among head and neck surgeons and plastic 
surgeons in recent years has ``greatly improved our ability to resect 
all sizes of tumors and to restore vital function and appearance as 
well as to extend survival,'' observes Dr. Goepfert, who holds the M.G. 
and Lillie A. Johnson Chair for Cancer Treatment and Research.
  New methods developed by plastic surgeons permit reconstruction of 
the oral cavity safely and with increasingly good outcomes. The key to 
success involves transferring tissues--together with vital blood 
vessels and nerves--from elsewhere in a patient's body to use for 
rebuilding parts of the head and neck affected by cancer.
  Dr. Robb explains, ``The head and neck is the most difficult area to 
reconstruct. But through specialized Micro vascular techniques, we can 
move tissues, muscle, fat and bone, along with their blood supply, to 
use in reshaping jaws, the tongue, and parts of the nose, ears, and 
throat.''
  Age is no obstacle for performing big reconstructive procedures so 
long as older patients have good blood vessels to transfer with the 
tissues. Regardless of age, Dr. Robb says, ``Our primary aim is to 
restore form, contour and function to the body parts affected by cancer 
surgery so that patients can enjoy the highest quality of life.''
  For Wright, being able to talk, chew, swallow and look virtually 
normal is a ``miracle'' stemming from remarkable medical progress and 
his religious faith. ``The good news is that cancer is conquerable'' 
and ``useful life is prolongable.''
  Realizing the best quality of cancer survival for Smith, however, 
will occur when he can return to the football field. During a recent 
follow-up visit to M.D. Anderson, his doctors encouraged him to 
continue that dream.

                          ____________________