Head and Neck cancer
Head and neck cancer treated differently based on where the tumor is located and on its size. Surgery, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and chemotherapies are trailered alone or in combination to best treat your condition. The treatment designed for you is based on a balance of how aggressive the tumors, how well it responds to the different modalities of treatment, and whether surgery will cause major side effects. Dr Laura Wang will discuss your individual case at the Head and neck multidisciplinary team (MDT). This meeting includes a team of specialists all with a focus in treating Head and neck cancers, including other surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists as well as allied health professions such as dietitian, speech therapist and dentists. The focus of this meeting is to weight up the the benefits, impacts of treatment, the support you need before, during and after your surgery while keeping in mind your personal priorities.
The aim of the surgery is to remove the cancer and maintaining as much of your normal appearance, speech, swallow and breathing functions.
When it is safe to do so, Dr Wang will minimise external scarring from your surgery. Options include operating through your mouth, using Da Vinci robot, and choosing favourable skin incisions. However Dr Wang’s priority is always achieving the best outcome for your cancer.
You recovery and hospital stay will depend on the size and area that Dr Wang needs to cut out. If the area is small, hospital stay will be overnight with a short recovery period after you leave hospital. For larger, more complex cases, hospital stay maybe for upto 7-10 days, recovery maybe more prolonged and longer lasting side effects may be inevitable. Dr Wang will discuss with you in detail the short and long term side effects of the operation during your consultation. This will give you an opportunity to weight up the advantages and disadvantages of treatment and allow you have an active role in deciding the best treatment strategy for you.