Your Care Team for Head and Neck Cancer Treatment at the University of Colorado Cancer Center
Institutes of Excellence—like the University of Colorado Cancer Center —are known for attracting the best and brightest doctors due to their unique research and educational opportunities. This means each doctor on your care team has superior training in his or her area of expertise. These doctors then bring their specialties together to create a patient-focused approach for each individual patient.
Each doctor on the team has a different area of expertise in head and neck cancer. Together, they combine their skills to determine and provide what’s best for you—an individual patient—based upon the type of cancer you have, how far it has spread, and even based upon your genes.
The UCCC Head and Neck Cancer Program Team:
- Provides state-of-the-art care for those diagnosed with head and neck cancers
- Is recognized as a center for developing and setting new standards in the treatment of head and neck cancers
- Is recognized as a center for second opinions on all aspects of head and neck cancer care
Team Members Include:
Medical Oncologist – A doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating cancer using chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and biological therapy. A medical oncologist often serves as the main caretaker of someone who has cancer and coordinates treatment provided by other specialists.
Radiation Oncologist – A doctor who treats patients with cancer using radiation therapy as the main treatment.
Head and Neck Cancer Surgeon – A doctor who is specially trained in surgery for both head and neck cancer and ear, nose and throat (ENT) problems and also in reconstructive surgery.
Pathologist – A doctor who identifies disease by studying tissues under a microscope
Radiologist – A doctor who uses medical imaging technologies like CT scans and MRIs to diagnose and sometimes treat disease.
Oncology Nurse – A nurse who specializes in treating and caring for people who have cancer.
Nutritionist – A trained health professional who helps patients maintain optimal nutritional intake to preserve strength and promote healing during the treatment process. The location of head and neck tumors and the discomfort from surgery and radiation in those areas may cause patients to have difficulty eating and maintaining adequate nutrition.
Social Worker – A professional trained to provide counseling and emotional support to patients and assist with practical living issues, such as:
- minimizing the effects of lost work time
- coping with disabilities
- paying medical expenses
Speech-Language Pathologist – A trained health professional who evaluates and treats head and neck cancer patients who have speech, voice and swallowing difficulties. Patients are seen before, during and after undergoing either surgery and/or chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Speech pathologists provide exercises and strategies for improving voice, speech and swallowing abilities.