Treatment of Swallowing for Head, Neck, and Oral Cancer (HNOC)

Treatment for head, neck, and oral cancer (HNOC) canbe daunting to even the most experienced speech-language pathologist. Intervention begins shortly after diagnosis andstaging and continues throughout the course of medical treatment and beyond. Patients who eat and exercise fare better than those who do neither. These patients have a far better chance of returning to a normal diet and reducing dependence on a feeding tube (Hutcheson, 2013). Prophylactic exercises during treatment as well as counseling, diet modifications, and communication with oncology regarding changes in oral status, nutrition, and skin health are imperative for survivorship and quality of life measures (Van Den Steen, 2019). Reassessment and intervention after completion of medical management is fundamental to identifying the "new normal swallow" and to facilitate a return to a normalized diet. This course provides a general framework for development of an intervention plan that is based in evidence and experience.

Highlights

• Improving speech-language pathologist interventions during medical management of head, neck, and oral cancer (HNOC): Prophylactic exercise, monitoring changes, modifying intake as needed, and counseling during medical treatment
• Targeted treatments to regain swallowing integrity and tolerance of diet
• Improve confidence in accepting the "new normal swallow" and identifying compensatory strategies forreturn to new normal diet
• Manual therapies and interventions for maintaining ROM and management of lymphedema

Target Audience: Speech-Language Pathologists