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Counseling
Oncology social workers help you cope with the emotional and practical challenges of head and neck cancer. Contact us at 800‑813‑HOPE (4673) or info@cancercare.org.
Learn more about counseling.
Financial Assistance
Find resources and support to manage your financial concerns. Limited assistance from CancerCare® is available to eligible families for cancer-related costs.
Support Groups
Connect with others in our free support groups led by oncology social workers.
We currently do not offer a head and neck cancer specific group. You may consider joining our general online support groups for people with cancer. Register now.
Community Programs
If you live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, learn about and view the full calendar of our free community programs.
Find Information
Connect Education Workshops
Listen in by telephone or online as leading experts in oncology provide up-to-date information about cancer-related issues in one-hour workshops. Podcasts are also available.
Podcasts
Head and Neck Cancer
- Highlights from the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting: Caring for Every Patient, Learning from Every Patient
- What’s New in the Treatment of Oral and Head and Neck Cancer
- Genomics and What’s New in the Treatment of Oral and Head and Neck Cancer
- Highlights from the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting
- Progress in the Treatment of Oral and Head and Neck Cancer
- Highlights from the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting
General Topics
- Care for Your Bones During & After Cancer Treatment: Tips to Improve Bone Health
- Preventing Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting
- Participating in Decisions about Your Care
- New Trends in Cancer Survivorship
- For Caregivers: Care Coordination for Your Loved One Living with Cancer and Other Health Problems
- Understanding the Costs of Care and Your Health Care Coverage
- Update on Clinical Trials: How They Work
- Cancer and the Workplace: Understanding Your Legal Protections
- Trends in Oncology and Treatment Planning: What You Need to Know
- Managing the Side Effects of Immunotherapy
- Understanding the Role of Immunotherapy in Treating Cancer
- Managing Eye and Vision Changes Related to Cancer Treatments
- Joys and Challenges of Pets in Your Home When You Have Cancer
- Taking Your Pills on Schedule: Its Importance in Treating Cancer
- Caregiving for Your Loved One with Cancer
- Life with Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD) Post Allogeneic Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplantation: New Treatment Approaches
- Current Perspectives on Cancer Survivorship
- Genomics and the Future of Cancer Treatment
- Genomics and Genetics: What is the Difference?
- Update on CAR-T Cell Therapy
- Treatment-Related Rash and Dry Skin
- Current Perspectives on Cancer Survivorship
- What Are Biosimilars? Understanding Their Role in Cancer Treatments: Current and Future Perspectives
- Managing the Side Effects of Immunotherapy
- Understanding the Role of Immunotherapy in Treating Cancer
- Taking Your Pills on Schedule: Why It Is So Important in Managing Cancer
- Preventing Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting
- Managing Eye and Vision Changes Related to Cancer Treatments
- Mind Body Techniques to Cope with the Stresses of Cancer
- What Are Generic Drugs: Understanding Their Role in Cancer Treatment
- For Caregivers: Care Coordination for Your Loved One Living with Cancer and Other Health Problems
- Taking Your Pills on Schedule: The Importance of Adherence in the Treatment of Cancer
- Participating in Decisions about Your Care
- Cancer and the Workplace: Understanding Your Legal Protections
- Preventing Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting
- Understanding the Costs of Care and Your Health Care Coverage
- Trends in Oncology and Treatment Planning: What You Need to Know
- Managing the Side Effects of Immunotherapy
- Living with Cancer Throughout The Cancer Journey
- Understanding the Role of Immunotherapy in Treating Cancer
- Managing Eye and Vision Changes Related to Cancer Treatments
- What Are Biosimilars? Understanding Their Role in Cancer Treatment: Current and Future Perspectives
- Managing Sensory Disruptions During Cancer Treatments
- For Health Care Professionals: Care Coordination for Older Men Living with Cancer
- Precision Medicine in Cancer Treatment
- Managing the Costs of Living with Cancer
- Advances in Treating Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting
- Taking Your Pills on Schedule – Why It Is So Important in Managing Cancer
- Nutrition and Healthy Eating Tips During and After Cancer Treatments
- Cancer and the Workplace: Knowing Your Legal Rights
- What’s New in Managing Blood Clots During Cancer Treatments
- For Health Care Professionals: Care Coordination for Older Men Living with Cancer
- Understanding Diagnostic Technologies and Biomarkers
- Healthy Eating and Managing Weight Changes During Cancer Treatment
- Managing the Costs of Living with Cancer
- For Caregivers: Practical Tips to Cope
- Highlights of the Affordable Care Act
- Managing Cancer Pain: What You Need to Know
- Understanding Chemotherapy-Induced Neutropenia: Low White Blood Cell Counts
- Cancer and the Workplace
- Advances in Treating Chemotherapy-Related Nausea and Vomiting
- Young Adult Survivorship: Fertility, Sexuality and Intimacy
- Understanding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for People Living with Cancer
- Helping Cancer Patients and Their Families Cope with the Stresses of Caregiving
- Managing Post-Treatment Neuropathy
- Stress Management for Caregivers: Practical Tips to Cope
- Changing Roles and Responsibilities for Caregivers
- Recapturing Joy and Finding Meaning
- Planning Your Comfort and Care at End of Life
- Using Mind/Body Techniques to Cope with the Stress of Survivorship
- Nutrition, Physical Activity and You: A Guide for People Living With Cancer
- Understanding the Important Role of Adherence in the Medical Management of Cancer
- Fear of Recurrence and Late Effects: Living with Uncertainty
- Money Matters: Finding Resources to Manage Cancer Treatment Costs
- Stress Management for Caregivers: Taking Care of Yourself Physically and Emotionally
- The Challenges of Coping with Cancer and Other Health Problems
- Weight Changes After Cancer Treatment: Why is it Happening and What Can I Do About It
- Mouth Pain and Discomfort: All You Need to Know About Mouth Sores and Oral Mucositis
- Helping Children and Teens Understand When a Parent or Loved One Has Cancer
- Chemobrain: The Impact of Cancer Treatments on Memory, Thinking and Attention
- Survivors Too: Communicating With and Among Family, Friends and Loved Ones
- Survivorship and Workplace Transitions
- Communicating with Your Health Care Team After Treatment: Making the Most of Your Visit
- Trouble Sleeping? Sleep Better to Feel Better: Tips You Can Use
- Helping Teachers and Educators Support Siblings of Children with Cancer
- Understanding Peripheral Neuropathy
- Survivors Too: Family, Friends and Loved Ones - Managing the Fatigue of Caregiving
- The Importance of Nutrition and Physical Activity
- For Parents, Caregivers and Professionals: Helping Brothers and Sisters of Children Living with Cancer
- Dental Health During Cancer Treatments
- Managing the Stress of Survivorship
- Medical Emergencies in Cancer Treatment
- Balancing Cancer and Careers: Living and Working with Cancer
- For Caregivers: Coping with Holidays, Special Occasions and Birthdays, Throughout the Year
- Survivors Too: Family, Friends and Loved Ones
- Rediscovering Intimacy in Your Relationships Following Treatment
- The Importance of Communicating with Your Doctor About Follow-Up Care
- Finding Hope and Meaning After Treatment
- My Treatment is Over: Why Do I Feel So Alone and Sad?
- Neuropathy and Joint Aches: New Post Treatment Challenges
- Managing Your Costs of Recovery
- Balancing Your Needs and Your Role as a Caregiver
- Is It My Cancer or Am I Getting Older?
- The Bereaved Caregiver in the Workplace
- Stress Management Tips for Survivors
- The Challenge of Creating Supportive Work Environments for Employees with Cancer and Their Caregivers
Publications
Read or order our free Connect booklets and fact sheets offering easy-to-read information about the latest cancer treatments, managing side effects and coping with cancer.
Head and Neck Cancer
- After a Head or Neck Cancer Diagnosis: Questions to Ask Your Health Care Team
- Coping With Mouth Sores During Treatment
- Coping With Oral and Head and Neck Cancer
- Prostheses Resources
- Treatment Update: Oral and Head and Neck Cancer
General Topics
- Coping With Cancer: Tools to Help You Live
- Caregiving for Your Loved One With CancerNew!
- Helping Children When a Family Member Has Cancer
- Communicating With Your Health Care Team
- Understanding and Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects
- Sources of Financial Assistance
- Finding Resources in Your Community
- If You've Just Been Diagnosed
- “What Can I Say to a Newly Diagnosed Loved One?”
- Caring Advice for Caregivers: How Can You Help Yourself?
Ask CancerCare
Every month, featured experts answer your questions about coping with cancer. View all questions and answers.
Head and Neck Cancer
- Q.
What are the long term permanent side effects in my throat from radiation?
A.Depending on exactly where you receive radiation, a number of side effects can occur either on a temporary, long-term, or delayed basis. They include changes in sensation (the ability to feel), secretions (dry mouth), taste, and range of motion (when tissue hardening restricts movement and posture). These side effects can then affect key physical functions associated with the mouth and throat, such as speech and, especially after radiation, swallowing.
Whether these side effects turn into a chronic condition (or lead to other problems) often depends on how soon they are recognized and treated. Certain precautions such as addressing dental issues, can be taken before treatment begins to reduce—if not outright prevent—long-term side effects. A publication from the National Cancer Institute, Oral Complications of Chemotherapy and Head/Neck Radiation, provides an overview of possible treatment side effects and how to manage them.
Here’s an additional resource that might be helpful:
- Q.
I underwent a modified radical neck dissection. I lost feeling on the left side of my neck, head, tongue and shoulder. I have no sense of taste and have difficulty swallowing. Will the feeling and sense of taste return?
A.There are a number of changes after treatment similar to what you’ve described, some of which can be permanent. Rehabilitation, however, can ease the side effects of treatment, and there are ways to cope with these effects over the long term.
Given the complexities of treating head and neck cancer, a team approach which utilizes a variety of different specialists is essential to minimizing the complications and maximizing the chances for recovery. In addition to the treating physicians—an oral or ear, nose and throat surgeon, a medical and/or radiation oncologist, a plastic surgeon, prosthodontist, and a dentist among them—a number of other health care professionals can assist with your recovery. These other team members include dietitians, social workers, nurses, physical therapists, and speech-language therapists.
Check with your surgeon regarding the loss of feeling on the side of neck. While nerves may have been cut in the area during the node dissection, you should not rule out at least some sensation returning over time. Have your taste and swallowing problems evaluated using tests such as the modified barium swallow (a kind of x-ray) or fiberoptic endoscopy. A speech-language pathologist can provide advice and guide you with therapeutic exercises to improve swallowing ability. There are also medications (both prescription and over the counter) that can help with saliva problems and dietary changes (such as avoiding foods that are made up of small particles) to ensure you continue to obtain sufficient nutrition.
Consider joining a peer support group at your local medical center or through organizations such as Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancer (SPOHNC) or CancerCare.
- Q.
What are the symptoms for head and neck cancer?
A.With any symptoms, it is necessary to check with your doctor in order to properly diagnose a medical condition. Normally, cancers that start in the neck are grouped with cancers of the head (primarily the mouth, nose, and throat). The warning signs of head and neck cancer include:
- Painless white patch or red patch in the mouth
- Hoarseness or change in voice
- Sore throat
- Painless lump in the mouth or neck
- Difficulty chewing, swallowing or breathing
- Frequent nosebleed, particularly on one side of the nose
- Hearing loss or ear pain, particularly in one ear
- Blood in saliva or phlegm
- Weight loss or fatigue
Each year, more than 35,000 people develop head and neck cancer in the United States. However, only through physical examination and by performing various diagnostic tests, including tissue analysis, are doctors able to confirm a diagnosis of cancer with certainty. As with many cancers, the earlier it is diagnosed, the better the chances for successful treatment.
- Q.
My 51-year-old brother has just been diagnosed with advanced cancer in his neck. We're waiting for results of PET scan for exact diagnosis and chemo will begin shortly. Can you offer any encouraging words?
A.I am sorry that your brother has to wait for more further information about what may be an advanced head and neck cancer. As difficult as waiting may be, however, it is essential that the medical team have as full a picture of his cancer as possible, to help them — and more importantly, your brother — understand what the treatment options are. There are different types of oral, head, and neck cancers: cancers of the oral cavity (including the lips, gums, and hard palate), the nasal cavity and sinuses, the salivary glands, the larynx (or voice box), and the pharynx and hypopharynx (different parts of the throat).
For a number of these cancers, treatments have improved, resulting in better quality of life and survival rates. Besides treatments specific to certain types of head and neck cancers, there is a whole new class of treatments called targeted treatments that are now being applied to head and neck cancers with promising results.
At 51, your brother is on the younger side for people with head and neck cancer, a factor which could work in his favor when estimating his ability to tolerate treatment and the likelihood of a good outcome. But statistics provide only a limited view of what the future may hold in store for your brother. It will be important for his medical team to review his individual cancer situation and medical history before they, or anyone else, can predict how all this will turn out.
You can prepare yourself by reading some basic information pertaining to head and neck cancer (how it is diagnosed and treated) to help you create a list of questions to ask the doctors:
- The National Cancer Institute’s Head and Neck Cancer: Questions and Answers
- The American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Head and Neck Cancer Information
- Q.
I'm looking to speak with other thyroid cancer patients—can you refer me to groups or organizations?
A.Connecting with other people who have been through the same emotions, feelings, and treatments that you have had can help you feel less alone and more understood. Here is a list of organizations that provide support groups and/or peer matching programs for people coping with thyroid cancer:
ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc. organizes support groups across the United States, monitors 12 online discussion groups, posts personal profiles and journals of survivors, facilitates an email support group, and runs the Person-to-Person Network, a peer matching program.
Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancer (SPOHNC) strives to raise awareness of issues related to head and neck cancer.
Head and Neck Cancer Alliance (formerly the Yul Brynner Head and Neck Foundation) is a foundation that hosts an online forum, organizes support groups, and sponsors Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week.
Cancer Hope Network provides free, one-on-one support to patients and their families. They match patients or family members with trained volunteers who have undergone and recovered from a similar cancer experience.
Imerman Angels matches and individually pairs a person touched by cancer with someone who has fought and survived the same type of cancer. Cancer caregivers (spouses, parents, children and loved ones) also receive one-on-one connections with other caregivers and survivors. The service is free and helps anyone touched by any type or stage of cancer, at any age, living anywhere in the world.
And CancerCare offers general online, face-to-face, and telephone support groups for people looking to talk about a wide range of cancer experiences. Our groups are facilitated by oncology social workers.
Featured Resource
Magnolia Meals at Home
A meal delivery program that helps patients by providing nourishing meals to households affected by cancer. Is currently available in and around Woodcliff Lake, NJ and Andover, MA, Raleigh-Durham, NC and New Haven, CT (as well areas in New York, New Hampshire and Boston, MA). For more information please visit magnoliamealsathome.com or contact Kathy Nugent, LCSW at 800-813-4673, ext. 6809.
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Additional Resources
For Head and Neck Cancer
American Head & Neck Society
310‑437‑0559, ahns.info
Head and Neck Cancer Alliance
866‑792‑4622, headandneck.org
Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancer (SPOHNC)
800‑377‑0928, spohnc.org
The Oral Cancer Foundation
949‑723‑4400, oralcancerfoundation.org
General Cancer Resources
American Cancer Society
800‑227‑2345, cancer.org
Cancer Support Community
888‑793‑9355, cancersupportcommunity.org
Medical Information
National Cancer Institute
800‑422‑6237, cancer.gov
Cancer.Net