Head and Neck Cancer Treatment
The treatment for head and neck cancer depends on several factors. These include the type of tumor, location of the tumor, and your overall health. Most importantly, it depends on the choice you make with the help of your doctor.
In general, head and neck cancers can be treated by surgery alone, radiation alone, a combination of surgery and radiation +/- chemotherapy, or chemotherapy along with radiation. Certain tumors respond better to certain types of treatment. Your doctor will help you in making this decision.
Roswell Park offers the latest in treatment options including organ preserving surgery, transoral laser and robotic surgery, photodynamic therapy, free flap reconstructive surgery, and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
You may want to ask your doctor these questions before your treatment begins:
- What is the stage of the disease?
- Has the cancer spread?
- Do any lymph nodes show signs of cancer?
- What is the goal of treatment? What are my treatment choices?
- Which do you recommend for me? Why?
- Will I have more than one kind of treatment?
- What can I do to prepare for treatment?
- Will I need to stay in the hospital? If so,for how long?
- What are the risks and possible side effects of each treatment? For example, am I likely to have eating problems during or after treatment?
- Would a clinical trial (research study) be right for me?
