My tumor was on my left true vocal cord. I got IMRT rads with 7 cisplatin doses over 7 weeks. For me, it definitely affected my voice but that seems to be getting better the more time goes on. But it got to the point where I could barely talk at all. I had swallowing issues with quite a bit of pain, also the swelling affected my airway to the point where I was in crisis at one point and needed emergency attention.

I was also told that if the chemorads didn't work I would be looking at a total laryngectomy. The bad thing is you lose your voice forever. The positives are that it rarely affects swallowing function and that particular surgery is very effective at achieving a cure. Technology has reached an amazing stage and electronic voice can offer a lot more than it used too. Do a youtube search for TruTone. They now offer devices that give you a full range of expressive tone AND hands free use.