Dysphagia is multifactorial in head and neck cancer survivors, with tumor type, comorbid conditions, and specific treatment (e.g., surgery, radiotherapy, systemic treatments) contributing to the dysphagia presentation. This session reviews common issues – including soft tissue fibrosis, lymphedema, and neuropathy – as they relate to cancer treatments and swallowing function. The session proposes an algorithm to provide standard yet personalized management of dysphagia considering diverse treatment scenarios along the continuum of survivorship, from proactive models of pre-habilitation to management of late effects in long-term survivors. This course is a recorded session from the 2019 online conference “Cancer Care: Enhancing Communication, Swallowing, and Quality of Life.”

Learning Objectives:
You will be able to:

• distinguish soft tissue fibrosis, edema, and denervation as contributing factors to dysphagia in head and neck cancer
• describe an evidence-based model of pre-habilitation or proactive swallow therapy for patients with head and neck cancer and define target population for proactive therapy
• describe an evidence-based model for reactive swallowing therapy and define target population for reactive therapy

What is Included?

You'll get online access to all the course content, including the full video, handouts, and references so you can access it from anywhere!

Assessment Type

Self-assessment—Think about what you learned and report on the Completion Form how you will use your new knowledge.

Related Courses

View all courses from the "Cancer Care: Enhancing Communication, Swallowing, and Quality of Life" online conference, available through the ASHA Learning Pass subscription or as an a la carte purchase.