Every year, the American Cancer Society receives dozens of requests each for laryngectomy survivors to speak to students about the hazards of smoking. To meet the increasing demand, the American Cancer Society decided to produce a video to share with schools across the state.

Targeted to middle school students, this 12-minute video titled "Hear My Voice" is being distributed to school health professionals across Maine during the month of November.

Featured are Leah Perry of Hollis, Lena Grenier of Ocean Point, Walter Monn of Portland, and the mother and daughter team of Cathy Pennell-Moody and Samantha Bailey of Harpswell.

The video is a graphic and honest look at what it’s like to live with a laryngectomy, or surgery to remove one’s voice box. For instance, none of them can go in a boat or go swimming because they risk going underwater and drowning if water entered their stoma, the hole in the throat where they breathe. The video includes classroom discussion questions for teachers.

At the moment, the video is only available to school health professionals. Briggs Advertising of Bath created the video for the American Cancer Society.