A diagnoses of head or neck cancer can be quite frightening. UW Medical Center's Cancer Center has extensive knowledge and expertise in treating head and neck cancers and understands the personal anxieties that often accompany patients diagnosed with the disease.
Head and Neck Cancer refers to a variety of malignant tumors occuring in the head and neck region -- the oral cavity, pharynx (throat), paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity, larynx, thyroid, and salivary glands.
Head and neck cancers are treated by otolaryngologists and head and neck surgeons. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 60,000 Americans will be diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Although the percentage of oral and head and neck cancer patients in the United States is only about 5 percent of all cancers diagnosed, this disease can cause functional and aesthetic problems.
Depending on its location, surgery may be required to remove a cancerous tumor, which may effect the appearance of the face or neck and/or may interfere with speech, sight, and functions of the mouth, including chewing, swallowing, or the abilities to smell and taste. In most cases, follow-up chemotherapy and radiation treatment is necessary. However, studies have shown that some patients can avoid surgery by receiving concurrent chemotherapy and radiation treatments. UW Medical Center's Cancer Center is on the leading edge of the best therapies available.
UW Medical Center is one of two hospitals in the country equipped to treat cancer with neutrons, a special form of radiation, called Fast Neutron Radiotherapy. Neutrons are subatomic particles produced by a piece of equipment called a cyclotron. The cyclotron's neutron rays have the ability to kill cancer cells that are resistant to other kinds of radiation and may be combined with other kinds of radiation therapy to acheive the best results.
Neutrons are considered the treatment of choice for patients with inoperable or recurrent salivary gland tumors. They also provide better local control for some locally advanced prostate cancers and for inoperable sarcomas of bone, cartilage, soft tissues, and in certain lung cancers.
Another radiation treatment is called Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, or IMRT. This is a very unique tool that allows radiation oncologists and physicists to shape and control the intensity of a radiation beam to conform it to the shape of a tumor, thus protecting healthy surrounding tissues.
Oral Medicine Clinic
All new patients who receive radiation treatment to the head and neck are seen before treatment and weekly during treatment by an oral medicine specialist to aid in the prevention and management of oral/dental treatment side effects. This service gives patients access to new and emerging therapies that help preserve salivary function and maintain oral tissue integrity and dental health, both during and after radiation treatment. Other patients who have oral/dental problems during cancer therapy can also be seen.
More educational, treatment information, and support services for head and neck cancers may be found on the Seattle Care Care Alliance's Web site.