Finding a New Voice

Life Changing

BBC

Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.6 • 735 Ratings

🗓️ 25 December 2024

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mother-of-two young children, Tanja Bage, had always been a keen singer and performer, so she was increasingly aware of her shortness of breath. The diagnosis was cancer, which required almost immediate surgery to remove the tumour, and with it her vocal chords. She would be losing her voice, and she had just a week to prepare herself and her family.

Tanja tells Dr Sian Williams about navigating the challenges of motherhood whilst having to re-learn how to speak – and reveals an exciting new artistic venture which has changed her life.

Producer: Tom Alban

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy.
0:05.4	My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds.
0:10.8	The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that.
0:17.5	With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to
0:22.4	helping you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put
0:28.3	together by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life,
0:35.0	check out BBC Sounds.
0:41.2	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:45.2	You're about to listen to the latest series of Life-Changing.
0:50.3	Episodes will be released weekly wherever you get your podcasts, but if you're in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes first on BBC Sounds.
0:56.2	Today on Life-Changing, a young woman with a partner and two small children, enjoying family
1:02.1	life in Leeds, working, busy and still finding time to indulge her passion for singing
1:08.6	and appearing in local productions.
1:14.3	And then Tanya Borga began to feel breathless.
1:17.0	Investigations revealed the reason why,
1:22.2	and her voice, which meant so much to her, was suddenly taken away.
1:29.4	We've heard on the programme before just how much your voice can define you and what its loss can mean.
1:38.8	But I think when you hear Tanya's, you'll perhaps understand just how dramatic a change that must have been for her and those around her.
1:40.1	Tanya, hello.
1:42.8	Hello. Thank you for having me.
1:45.0	Oh, it's so good to see you. Thank you for coming in. Oh, and congratulations because you've just got married to your partner.
1:49.0	I have.
	...

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