Physical Therapy From Diagnosis and Beyond
From the time of initial cancer diagnosis, there are things you can do to help your quality of life and outlook for each day throughout your cancer treatment plan. Many people have either heard of or experienced physical therapy and rehabilitation. Whether it be after surgery for a knee replacement, after a stroke, or even […]
Journaling Your Cancer Journey Benefits of Expressive Writing for People with Cancer
Journaling, or “expressive writing” is a creative and emotional outlet for many people with cancer. In addition to being a way to chronicle your journey and clarify your thoughts, some people have found that writing is a good way to find the silver linings, or the positive things that happen amidst the heartache and pain […]
Taking The Healing Aspect of Music Further
“Oh, I’m not musical” or “I only play the radio” are a couple of typical answers I get after introducing myself as a music therapist. Yes, music is healing and as a board-certified music therapist I take the use of music to promote healing a bit further. You may not realize it, but our bodies […]
Less Intensive Treatment May Be Possible For Some Patients with HPV-Associated Head and Neck Cancer
In my experience as a head and neck medical oncologist, fear of long-term side effects of cancer treatment is second only to the fear of cancer recurrence. Treating the head and neck region using surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, can result in significant permanent side effects including dry mouth, altered or absent taste, difficulty swallowing, and […]
An Enlightening Summer Research Experience: Using Light Treatment for Oral Cancer Carez
Upon completing my first year at Dental School, I was looking at getting involved with dental research this summer to learn more about progress in the field of clinical care delivery. Although we had just started learning about the sophisticated biomaterials and biotechnologies revolutionizing clinical dentistry, I was fascinated by the process of how these […]
Proton Therapy Success with Head and Neck Cancer
Imagine a 196-ton, cancer-killing machine that can target a patient’s cancer with sub-millimeter precision while sparing nearby healthy tissues and minimizing side effects. In its most simple terms, that’s proton therapy. Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment that delivers a powerful, highly precise beam of radiation directly to the cancer. Protons enter […]
How Integrative Oncology Services Can Help Those Affected by Head and Neck Cancers
Head and neck cancers, occurring in such a sensitive area of the body, can pose a number of issues for those undergoing treatment. The mainstays of curative treatment are surgery and/or radiation, both of which can cause many symptoms during and after treatment. Surgical treatment can result in loss of function or disfigurement. Radiation can […]
Recurrent and Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer
It is an understatement to say head and neck cancer is a challenging disease for patients, caregivers and clinicians. Curative treatment consists of either surgery, radiation or both, often combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy. The individual treatments for head and neck cancer have improved somewhat over the past 30 years with the development of minimally invasive […]
Head and Neck Cancer Pain: Opioid Use and Alternatives
Introduction Anyone who currently has or who has survived head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) can tell you that the cancer itself and the treatment involved can cause significant pain. The location of the tumors as well as the therapies to treat them, including large surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy, all contribute to this pain. […]
Acupuncture Following Head and Neck Cancer Treatment
Xerostomia Xerostomia or dry mouth is caused by a disturbance of the salivary glands. This is especially prevalent among head and neck oncology patients who have experienced chemotherapy, radiation and surgery for their head and neck malignancy. Cancer therapy can cause damage to both the serous and mucous cells that compose the salivary glands. Patients […]