Support for speech, voice and swallowing changes after surgery, radiation or chemotherapy for head and neck cancer, working alongside each patient's medical team.
Head and neck cancer is an umbrella term for cancers affecting the organs and tissues in and around the head and neck — the mouth, throat, larynx, nasal cavity, tonsils, lips, and salivary glands. Treatment usually involves surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or some combination of the three, and those treatments frequently lead to speech and swallowing difficulties. Dysphagia — swallowing difficulty — is a particularly common outcome, usually from weakening of the muscles involved in swallowing.
Depending on the location and severity of the cancer, a patient may go through one or more of the following interventions, each affecting speech and swallowing in its own way.
A diagnosis affects speaking, eating and swallowing.Surgery to remove cancerous tissue from the throat can make it harder for food to pass through comfortably. Because the esophagus sits directly next to the airway, swallowing afterward can sometimes let liquid or solid food slip into the airway instead, leading to coughing or, in more serious cases, choking.
Surgery can change how the throat works.Surgery on the lips, soft or hard palate, or other oral structures can make it difficult to fully contain food and drink in the mouth while eating. When the gums, jaw, or nearby tissue is involved, chewing itself can become a challenge.
Most head-and-neck-cancer patients in the U.S. undergo radiation therapy at some point, most often intensity-modulated radiation therapy, which uses high-energy photons to stop cancer cells from replicating. Depending on how severe the cancer is and how intense the radiation needs to be, patients can experience a range of chewing or swallowing difficulties as a result.
A laryngectomy is the full surgical removal of the larynx (voice box), typically reserved for more aggressive cancer spread — many laryngeal cancer cases are treated instead with laser excision of the affected vocal cord or a partial laryngectomy. A full laryngectomy leaves a patient with a permanent tracheostomy opening at the base of the throat, which presents a significant challenge to speaking. That challenge can be addressed through one of three approaches: an electrolarynx device, a tracheoesophageal puncture, or learning esophageal speech — each requiring extensive, closely supervised work with a speech-language pathologist.
There are many ways to communicate after a laryngectomy.The main challenges after these treatments usually fall into speech difficulties or dysphagia, and our work focuses on restoring the ability to speak, eat, and drink comfortably. Every therapy plan is built around what matters most to that particular patient, taking a number of personal factors into account.
A plan shaped around your goals and recovery.Because these factors are so personal and specific to each patient, close collaboration between patient and therapist is essential — there's no one-size-fits-all program here. Our therapists are fully trained, certified, and experienced in handling the full range of speech, swallowing, language, and communication challenges that come with head and neck cancer, across every age group.
Care is personal and goes at your pace.Call, text, or fill out our form — we'll set up your free consultation within 24 hours.
