May 2004 - One year ago, things were much different for Amy Hancock. Unable to speak after cancer forced doctors to remove her larynx, the 26 year-old was set to go under the knife for a procedure never before performed in the United States.

Randal Paniello, MD, Washington University otolaryngologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, planned to restore Hancock''s voice using a procedure pioneered overseas. Dr. Paniello and his team would create a makeshift speaking tube – sewn out of skin from Amy''s arm and cartilage from her nose - and place it between her trachea and esophagus.

Although Dr. Paniello and Hancock were both confident, there was a chance the surgery wouldn't work.

An electrolarynx device was her only means of verbal communication prior to surgery.  Prior to the operation, she said that regardless of the outcome she would have no regrets. "I think not having the surgery would be a bigger risk," she states. "Not going through with it and wondering what might have happened would be torture." (Click here to hear Amy''s voice prior to surgery.)

As the anniversary of her surgery approaches on May 23, it's safe to say Hancock made the right decision.

In a voice that''s comparable to that of a woman with a sore throat, she admits her life has changed dramatically. "I think it''s gone better than planned, and I had really high hopes," she says. "I thought I''d sound hoarse, but people now know I''m a woman when I''m on the phone, where with the electrolarynx I''d get a lot of ''Thank you, sir.''" (Click here to hear Amy''s voice one year after surgery.)

A feminine voice is one thing. Getting noticed at the grocery store another. Hancock''s story garnered national attention in 2003. Aside from considerable interest from St. Louis media, Dr. Paniello and Amy''s father chatted with Charles Gibson on "Good Morning America" and the Discovery Health Channel followed her progress from beginning to end.

The experience has made Hancock a celebrity of sorts. "My name in the media is ''The Girl Who Had The Surgery,''and now people come up to me and call me that, " says Hancock. "I think I should change my name."

With fame in hand, "The Girl Who Had The Surgery" has shared her story at a few American Cancer Society events, was part of a parade in her hometown of Flora, IL and is getting ready for her first trip to New York as a guest on "The Montel Williams Show." Still, things most people take for granted are what excites Hancock most.

"My dog's name is Macie and she loves when I talk to her now," says Hancock. "She likes people talking to her and as much as I loved her I couldn''t do that, but now when I say her name she acts like it''s Christmas morning."

While Hancock''s life is much different, she feels credit should go where credit is due. "I feel bad when people give me so much credit," she says. "Dr. Paniello did the surgery, he did the research and honestly all I did was lie on the table and I woke up and everything was done."

"I really feel like I didn''t do anything anyone else wouldn''t have done."