For head and neck patients, your head will have to be immobilized in preparation for your daily treatments. This part of the procedure will involve making a mask to form around your face. This mask will be used in your daily treatments. The physician may require a "bite block", a device that is held in the mouth to protect the tongue during treatments. This position may be uncomfortable but its important for the planning process. This is the position you will be in for your daily treatment. The therapist will also place marks on the mask to ensure the radiation is directed to the same area for each treatment. If a mask is not used, then the skin will be marked with semi-permanent ink.
Head & Neck Cancer Treatment
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Dr. Randall D. Stastny, DMD , Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, answeredSee All 2 AnswersIt is always important to take good care of your teeth, but this is especially true when having radiation treatment to the head and neck. Unfortunately one of the side effects of the radiation is that the salivary glands will stop functioning properly. This causes the teeth to be very susceptible to dental cavities. Also, once the jaws have been irradiated they do not heal as well, so it is not always a good idea to extract a tooth after radiation treatment has been done. For these reasons, it is important to see your dentist, have any questionable teeth removed and get any fillings done before radiation treatment starts. During and after your radiation treatment it is very important to continue to brush and floss and use a daily prescription fluoride. Artificial saliva is also helpful to counteract the dryness and sores from the radiation treatment.
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See All 3 AnswersManaging head and neck cancer often starts with a surgeon – but it needn’t end there. Check out this video with Dr. John Lee of Sanford Health to learn how having a team of experts, including a nutritionist and a physical therapist, can help increase survival rates for head and neck cancers by as much as 20 percent. -
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Intermountain Healthcare answeredSee All 2 AnswersHead and neck cancers may require a multidisciplinary approach. Removal of the cancer may involve an otolaryngologist who focuses on cancer. Reconstruction would require a plastic surgeon (potentially one who is trained in microvascular reconstruction techniques). A radiation oncologist may also be necessary to administer adjuvant therapies. Where appropriate, a medical oncologist may also be involved. Where defects involving the voice box (larynx), tongue, esophagus, or mandible are involved, a speech pathologist and/or occupation therapist are necessary. A nutritionist can also be a vital member of the treatment team to assist with monitoring adequate feeding to avoid becoming dehydrated and malnourished. -
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Dr. William D. Knopf, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered on behalf of Piedmont Heart InstituteClinical trials are research studies conducted with people who volunteer to take part. Participation in clinical trials is an option for many patients with head and neck cancers.
Treatment trials are designed to find more effective cancer treatments and better ways to use current treatments. In some studies, all patients receive the new treatment. In others, doctors compare different therapies by giving the new treatment to one group of patients and standard therapy to another group. Doctors are studying new types and schedules for delivering radiation therapy, new anticancer drugs, new drug combinations, and new ways of combining treatments. They are also studying ways to treat head and neck cancers using biological therapy (a type of treatment that stimulates the immune system to fight cancer) by itself or in combination with anticancer drugs or radiation therapy.
Scientists are also conducting clinical trials to find better ways to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for head and neck cancers. These clinical trials, called supportive care trials, explore ways to improve the comfort and quality of life of cancer patients and cancer survivors.lliam
This answer is based on the source infromation from the the National Cancer Institute. -
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Riverside Cancer Care Center answeredRegular follow-up care is very important after treatment for head and neck cancer to make sure the cancer has not returned, or that a second primary (new) cancer has not developed. Depending on the type of cancer, medical checkups could include exams of the stoma, mouth, neck, and throat. Regular dental exams may also be necessary. From time to time, the doctor may perform a complete physical exam, blood tests, x-rays, and CT, PET, or MRI scans. The doctor may continue to monitor thyroid and pituitary gland function, especially if the head or neck was treated with radiation. Also, the doctor is likely to counsel patients to stop smoking.
This answer is based on source information from the National Cancer Institute
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Dr. Brett A. Miles, MD , Ear, Nose & Throat (Otolaryngology), answered on behalf of The Mount Sinai Health SystemSee All 2 AnswersThe appropriate reconstruction after undergoing surgery for head and neck cancer is determined by the amount, location, and type of tissue affected by the malignancy. Some cases are reconstructed with local tissues, some with tissues from the nearby region, and some with tissues transferred from distant sites. The type of reconstruction required varies widely so a discussion with your head and neck and/or reconstructive surgeon is paramount to understand the challenges particular to your situation.
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Dr. Stuart A. Linder, MD , Plastic Surgery, answeredSee All 3 AnswersFacial reconstruction with free flap surgery includes the use of transfering composite tissue with the neurovascular supply intact. The microvascular replantation includes bone, muscle, nerves, and blood supply (artery and venous supply). Examples include: serratus anterior muscle, gracilus myocutaneous flap, rectus flap, radial forearm free flap, etc. These composite flaps are brought to the recipient area of the facial defect to reconstruct the jaw (mandible), the orbit, the cranium and the midface after cancer extenteration or traumatic loss of tissue. Board certified plastic surgeons with special training in microvascular replantation perform the harvesting and anastamosis under the microscope to maintain ample blood supply for flap survival. -
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Dr. Marshall R. Posner, MD , Hematology & Oncology, answered on behalf of The Mount Sinai Health SystemSee All 2 AnswersRadiation therapy, also known as radiotherapy, consists of using strategically aimed doses of radiation to kill cancer cells. Performed by a specialist known as a radiation oncologist, radiation therapy destroys the cancer cells directly in its line of fire and also damages healthy cells within its aim. Because of this action on normal cells radiotherapy doses are limited and it cannot be used to treat large areas of the body. Its common acute side effects are:
- fatigue
- loss of appetite mouth sores local pain
There are also other possible side effects, each associated with whatever part of the head or neck is being treated. Many, however, go away after radiation treatment is completed. Medication can treat these side effects.
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Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answeredThe primary medications used to treat head and neck cancers are chemotherapy drugs. These drugs kill cancer cells throughout the body and are most commonly used for head and neck cancers that have spread to sites distant from the original tumor. Unfortunately, they are not specific for cancer cells, but can also kill other rapidly dividing cells; side effects occur because of these effects on non-cancer cells. Some of the more commonly used chemotherapy drugs for head and neck cancers are cisplatin, methotrexate, bleomycin, and fluorouracil.