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Xerostomia = Dry Mouth

Byline: Jennifer Kurtz is a Speech Language Pathologist and stage IV oral cancer survivor practicing at Overlake Medical Center near Seattle, Washington. Her experience has given her an unexpected, yet unique, perspective on the clinician’s role in the management of the Head & Neck Cancer population and has motivated her to advocate for aggressive, collaborative, multi-disciplinary care of all patients across a broad continuum.


Xerostomia describes the subjective sensation of oral dryness and is commonly called “dry mouth.” The typical causes of dry mouth include medications, radiotherapy to the head and neck for cancer treatment, and systemic diseases.

mouth

Xerostomia can have a profound, negative impact on quality of life. The lack of salivary production impacts the ability to eat, sleep, speak, and swallow (Lew & Smith, 2007). Adequate salivary flow allows us to speak clearly without our lips sticking to our teeth and to mix saliva with food when we chew to enable easy transfer through the oral cavity as we swallow. Inadequate salivary function can create a number of complications such as: continue reading →



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A Newfound Meaning to Life

Byline: Steve Clark from Camp Verde, AZ

In the years since I was first diagnosed with head and neck cancer I have come to one realization. There is no such thing as a “typical” case. So many delicate and complex systems pass through that part of the anatomy that every survivor tells a different story. This is mine. Glean from it what you will. I hope that it may be of help to someone. continue reading →



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HPV: Changing the Face of Head & Neck Cancer

Written by Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S of www.SwallowStudy.com (revised April 25, 2017). Reposted on the NFOSD website with the author’s permission. See Karen’s Biography at the end of this article.

“How did I get tonsillar cancer? I don’t smoke or drink!”

Young people who do not smoke do NOT get cancer, right?

Wrong.

We need to have the talk — about sex and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). continue reading →



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Advice from Survivors to Patients with Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer



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Head and Neck Cancer: Swallowing Basics

People who receive treatment for head and neck cancer can have difficulty swallowing at different points in time of their cancer treatment. The causes of swallowing difficulty can be complex and related to multiple factors: tumor growth resulting in injury to normal tissue, surgery-induced damage to the oral and/or pharyngeal (throat) muscles, and/or excessive scarring from radiation.

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