El Paso Matters – After surviving Stage 4 cancer, El Paso musician turns to the community to restore his smile

To his friends, family and decades of music fans across El Paso, Russ Kalman was known for his smile. 

“Russ is unique — crusty, yet charming, with a devious sense of humor. He has a heart of gold, which you can see on his sleeve if you look close enough,” said Doug Pullen, who has worked with Kalman at the Plaza Classic Film Festival.

But for the past three years, Kalman’s smile has largely vanished after he had all but nine of his teeth removed to prepare him for surgery for Stage 4 laryngeal cancer. 

“I grew a ridiculous mustache to cover my upper gum line so that when I accidentally did flash a full smile it was somewhat camouflaged,” said Kalman, who now speaks with the aid of a voice prosthesis after his surgery. “Seriously, though, it became really difficult to chew food. I only have two teeth that line up for mastication.”

Removing his remaining teeth and getting a full set of dentures would cost $13,000, an unaffordable amount for Kalman, 67, whose dental insurance only covers $500 a year. So his wife, Kat Tyler, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the dental work.

The fundraising campaign has raised just over $6,000 as of Tuesday, Nov. 4.

“I can’t thank them enough,” Kalman said of the donors, many of whom have chosen to be anonymous. “This lack of real dental coverage for retirees and disabled is kind of disgraceful.”

Kalman has worked as a theatrical production specialist handling lighting, sound, video and props. He also has worked in TV and video production, and has been the lead digital cinema projectionist for the Plaza Classic Film Festival.

But for many El Pasoans, he is best known as a bass player in bands that have featured some of the borderland’s best-known musicians of the last 50 years, including Mario Otero, Mike Cancellare, Tim Green and Hal Marcus. He also has played with bands fronted by his wife, Kat Tyler.

Kalman’s cancer was diagnosed in 2022, and surgery and a combination of chemotherapy and radiation followed.

“When we found out that it was stage four, we weren’t crying and, ‘Oh, my gosh, it’s the end.’ We didn’t go that route. We were, like, ‘OK, well, let’s do this,’” said Tyler, who was the lead vocalist for the El Paso band QID for many years, as well as a radio personality on KLAQ. She now works as a nurse.

Their daughter Zoe Kalman, now 28, remembers it differently.

“It was the first time in my life that I could see my dad was deeply scared. I think that’s something parents try to hide from their children even when they’re grown up. I’d seen him sad, mad and so on. But existential fear was kind of new,” she said. 

The prognosis from medical professionals was “poor,” Tyler said. “He’s a miracle.”

“The old traditional treatment, where you just did radiation or just did chemo, was terrible. It was like 16% survival after five years,” Russ Kalman said. “It goes up slightly when you do both at once.” That’s the option he chose.

“A lot of people quit. They quit the radiation or they quit the combination. They can’t take it,” he said.

The treatment was grueling, Russ Kalman and Tyler said. She and Zoe served as caretakers for months. The radiation impact on his spine caused his height to shrink by four inches. He has relied primarily on a feeding tube for nutrition and medication, but that’s being removed this week.

“I retreated to 100% tube feedings, eventually taking some water by mouth. After six months or so of that I advanced to thickened liquids (like chocolate shakes) and then got brave – swallowing slimy foods like queso and soup,” he said.

“I am ready for the next step. I love tasting solids!”

Kalman said he most looks forward to chewing steaks, carrots and bell peppers.

But he said the biggest change would be regaining his smile. 

“I would be freakin’ thrilled! I know I shouldn’t, but I have been hiding my face for 3½ years. I was once known for being a smiley, happy, laughing guy. And it would make my girls (Kat and Zoe) so pleased.”

His wife agreed: “Oh, my gosh. He had a beautiful smile. He really did.”

Zoe Kalman said the issue for her is more than cosmetic.

“There’s so much more to a smile than just teeth. What matters most to me is that he’ll be able to eat more of the things he loves and have an easier time speaking. It’s more of a medical necessity than anything,” she said. 

The treatment of dental care as primarily cosmetic frustrates the whole family.

“It’s a shame that my dad and so many other people are reliant on crowdfunding to receive medical care, from more complex dental operations to basic medical treatment that nobody should ever have to worry about paying for,” Zoe Kalman said.

Tyler and Russ Kalman said he’s been classified as being in remission for two years. They are close to paying off the debt they owed after the surgery.

Tyler had wanted to stage a benefit concert to raise money for Kalman’s dental work, but her work as a nurse left her too busy to organize such an undertaking. 

So, on Oct. 6, they turned to GoFundMe, an online platform where people can raise money to meet unexpected expenses. More than 50 people had donated as of Monday.

Tyler said they’ve been overwhelmed by the support so far. 

“For everybody that’s donated, we’re both truly, truly grateful. So is my daughter. The family, we’re all grateful,” she said.

Tyler said many musicians have helped with the fundraising effort, a reflection of their affection for her husband.

“When other bands were playing, if their amp blew, call Russ, and Russ would drop what he was doing and show up with an amp and save their night. It was anything, a cable, a microphone, anything like that. If a band had terrible sound, they’d ask Russ to come straighten it out,” she said.

Pullen, the director of the Plaza Classic Film Festival, agreed.

“He’s bailed us out of scary situations several times,” he said.

“Russ is a man of many talents, but his ability to survive a harrowing battle with laryngeal cancer is his biggest talent of all. He’s truly inspirational. He came out on the other side and continues to contribute to the arts behind the scenes in many ways,” Pullen said.

The post After surviving Stage 4 cancer, El Paso musician turns to the community to restore his smile appeared first on El Paso Matters.

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