The U.S. government’s Institute of Medicine reported that asbestos, which is accepted as a cause of a number of respiratory ailments including lung cancer, may also be a source for laryngeal cancer. The larynx produces the sound of your voice. Each year in the United States, more than 10,000 people learn they have larynx cancer. Men are four times more likely than women to get cancer of the larynx. Occupational related issues are certainly a factor with mechanics, construction, and other jobs that handle asbestos.

A series of studies have found that certain cancers of the throat and lungs are similar, so the U.S. Senate asked the institute to investigate a potential link between asbestos and other upper-body cancers. Asbestos is also linked to mesothelioma which is a rare cancer that attacks the lining of the chest.

Smokers and smokers that drink alcohol are even more at risk to develop cancer of the larynx. Symptoms of larynx cancer are hoarseness or other voice changes,lump in the neck, a sore throat or feeling that something is stuck in your throat, a cough that does not go away, breathing problems, bad breath, earaches, and weight loss.

Barbara McNair, 72, started out as a nightclub singer and moved into film and TV as more opportunities for black women opened up in the 1960’s. She eventually hosted her own show in 1969 called The Barbara McNair Show.

Her best known film role came as Sidney Poitier’s wife in the classic crime drama They Call Me Mister Tibbs. She played on Broadway, posed in Playboy and was cast along Elvis Presley in his last film, Change of Habit. She also accompanied Bob Hope on a tour of Vietnam.

Barbara died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer, her husband said.