We are a team of highly specialist speech and language therapists who work as part of the head and neck cancer multi-disciplinary team to provide support for people with speech, voice and swallowing difficulties related to their head and neck cancer.
You may have noticed that food or fluid are going down the wrong way (aspiration) or getting stuck in your mouth or throat, and you may have started avoiding certain foods; your speech may be less clear, sounding slurred; or your voice may sound hoarse. These difficulties can arise from the disease itself but most commonly after treatments involving surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Our team is based within the ENT department at the Freeman Hospital and provide inpatient and outpatient services. We work into several multi-disciplinary clinics alongside other health professionals including Head and Neck clinical nurse specialists, dietitians, surgeons and oncologists.
We may be involved in your care following your diagnosis of head and neck cancer, before treatment is given. Our team will provide you with information to help you understand the effects of proposed treatments on your speech, voice and swallowing and help you make informed decisions about your care.
Assessment
Our assessment may include some or all of the following:
- Case history: previous medical history, head and neck cancer treatment information, your description of your symptoms.
- Oro-motor assessment: how the nerves and muscles of your mouth and throat are working
- Clinical swallow assessment: observations of you swallowing different food and fluid textures
- Videofluoroscopy: x-ray of swallowing
- Fibreoptic Endoscopic Examination of Swallowing (FEES): nasendoscopy involving swallow trials.
- Laryngoscopy: nasendoscopy assessment of how your voice is working
- Auditory perceptual analysis of speech/voice: listening to your speech/voice
- Questionnaires: to help understand the impact of changes on your quality of life
We can see you while you are on the ward following surgery that impacts speech, voice and swallowing and will support you through radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments. Rehabilitation can continue for some time after treatment and some people are referred to us many years after their initial head and neck cancer treatment due to the late effects of treatment.
We aim to help you achieve the best possible function and find ways to manage longer term effects in order for you to participate in daily activities to the best of your ability. Treatments may involve some or all of the following:
- Education and advice to help you better understand the changes you are experiencing.
- Direct exercises and techniques to improve your function.
- Advice regarding appropriate food and fluid textures
- Advice regarding strategies to better manage the changes you are experiencing
- Psychological and emotional support
- Liaison with other health professionals
Contact
You can contact the team by calling: 0191 2137635 (Option 3)
