Actor Faces Tonsil Cancer and Finds His Voice Again

When voice actor Sam Riegel was diagnosed with tonsil cancer, he turned to the experts of Keck Medicine of USC, who worked together to save his life while also safeguarding his voice.

At the start of 2024, Sam Riegel was thriving. His career as a voice actor and producer was flourishing, and his role-playing media company, Critical Role, was at the top of its game.  On the personal side, Sam loved traveling, food, playing Dungeons & Dragons, rooting for the Dodgers and making memories with his family.

“I was a happy, healthy father of two kids and husband to an incredible wife, just going about my life,” Sam says. “I was honestly feeling great.”

In March, however, the actor noticed that he had lost the ability to taste anything sweet. He took a COVID test, and it came back negative. Sensing something wrong, Sam was quick to call his doctor, who referred him to an otolaryngologist.

The ear, nose and throat specialist soon diagnosed him with a form of tonsil cancer known as oropharyngeal carcinoma. The news alarmed Sam, especially because he relied on his voice to support himself and his family.

In order to survive the disease while still preserving his voice, he needed to find a medical center with a team of multidisciplinary experts ready to work together on every aspect of his care.

Sam’s doctor told him that he would find the expertise and advanced specialty care he needed at Keck Medicine of USC. There, he was treated by Uttam Sinha, MD, a head and neck surgeon and director of the USC Head and Neck Center, part of Keck Medicine and the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

Dr. Sinha wasted no time starting Sam’s treatment. In April 2024, he removed the voice actor’s tonsil, along with parts of his tongue and soft palate. Sam spent three days recovering in the hospital before going home. After surgery, he says, he lost his appetite and some weight.

Following surgery, he began 25 days of radiation therapy over six weeks overseen by radiation oncologist Adam Garsa, MD, of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, also part of Keck Medicine.

Patients who receive radiation for cancers of the mouth and throat often experience fatigue and problems with taste and saliva production. Each week after undergoing radiation therapy, the impact of treatment would intensify as the days wore on. Like many patients, Sam felt exhausted, had trouble swallowing and eating, lost more weight and eventually “got sick of ice cream and nutrition shakes.”

While radiation therapy can be challenging, it’s highly effective. On the last day of his treatment, Sam breathed a sigh of relief and turned his focus to the next challenge: restoring his voice.

“As a voice actor, I was particularly anxious about regaining my voice and diction,” Sam explains. “My salivary glands were damaged. My mouth was constantly dry. Scar tissue was tight in my throat, and neck muscles were raw.”

Sam began working with a multidisciplinary team of nutritionists, physical therapists, speech pathologists and swallow therapists. Over the course of six months, they guided him through the recovery of his mouth and throat, helping his body relearn how to eat, swallow and speak.

“Thanks to daily vocal, jaw, neck and tongue exercises, I regained my voice,” Sam says. “After months of physical therapy, my mouth strength and flexibility improved. And about a year after radiation, my taste and saliva came back.”

Today, Sam reports that he’s recovered. He continues to express gratitude for all of the physicians and providers who cared for him. “I’m more or less back to normal thanks to the many doctors, nurses and therapists at Keck Medicine,” he says. “They offered all sorts of support, treatment, counseling, therapy, dietary supplements, pharmaceutical help and regular check-ins.”

Today, he’s relieved to no longer be thinking about cancer every day. “I wake up each day happy and healthy, without anxiety about the grim specter of mortality,” he says. “When it does come up, I’m able to laugh about my experiences and share tips with other folks going through it.”

Sam’s favorite piece of advice: rely on others. During his own experience, he made use of a particular tip often shared by the Keck Medicine team to lean on his support system.

“I invited all my friends and family members to drive me to radiation appointments,” Sam says. “I got to catch up with so many people I didn’t see on a regular basis, and it reminded me how connected we all are.”

He also has words of encouragement for other cancer patients. “There will be times — many times — when it feels like you will never get better, when you start shutting down mentally and giving up spiritually. That’s okay. It’s part of the journey. But you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to convince yourself to keep fighting. Do anything you can to battle this beast. And eventually, something will work.”

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