Head, Neck and Skin Cancer

Surgery: What to Expect

If surgery is part of your treatment plan, it’s reassuring to know that your health is in the hands of specialized head, neck, and skin cancer surgeons. As a recognized leader in this area of expertise, we’re helping patients heal through innovative procedures day in and day out.

Options for Surgery

Head, neck, or skin cancer surgery can be a promising step forward on your path to healing. Your dedicated team of cancer specialists will review every detail of your medical history and recent tests to recommend the strongest, most effective treatment plan for you. Surgery may be the only treatment you need, or, more commonly, it’s used in combination with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy.

Whenever possible, we will treat your cancer with the most minimally-invasive procedure. Depending on your type of cancer, surgery could include one or more of the following surgical procedures:

• Excision is a common tactic where your surgeon removes as much cancerous tissue as possible.
• Glossectomy removes a part or all of the tongue.
• Mandibulectomy involves removing part or all of the lower jaw.
• Maxillectomy means removing part or all of the upper jaw.
• Microvascular reconstruction takes tissue from your arms, legs, or back to help rebuild parts of the head and neck .
• Neck dissection removes entire sections of lymph node groups to treat and prevent cancer.
• Open surgical excision removes cancerous tissue with a more invasive approach.
• Transoral laser microsurgery is a minimally-invasive surgery that removes tumors through the mouth.
• Transoral robotic surgery removes tumors through the mouth with the help of a robotic surgical system.

Chemotherapy Treatment: What to Expect

Nothing matters more to us than getting you well, and getting you home. Depending on what type of head or neck cancer and how advanced it is, chemotherapy may be a part of our treatment of hypopharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, oral cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, and salivary gland tumors. We use chemotherapy as an adjuvant, or supportive therapy in combination with other treatments, to help make sure hidden head and neck cancer cells don’t grow. From the moment you arrive for your chemo treatment, one of our nurses will be there to greet you and guide you, keeping you and your loved one informed, comfortable, and in good spirits throughout your visit.

How Does Chemotherapy Work?

Using a combination of specialized intravenous drugs, chemotherapy has the power to destroy or slow down the growth of fast-growing cancer cells in every part of your body. At AdventHealth Cancer Institute, our oncology experts take an individualized approach to your chemotherapy treatment. Depending on your type of head or neck cancer, we’ll determine which drug or combination of drugs is best for you. Chemotherapy may be used in combination with surgery and/or radiation therapy. Along the way, we're here to help however we can, answering any questions and helping you stay strong and optimistic before, during, and after your treatment.

Radiation Therapy: What to Expect

While radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for head and neck cancers, at AdventHealth Cancer Institute, we do it with uncommon expertise, guidance, and compassion. Using sophisticated radiation technology, we can target tumors in and around important structures in the head and neck with amazing precision, easing your pain and leaving healthy tissue untouched. Depending on your diagnosis, your dedicated team may recommend radiation alone, but in many cases, we combine it with surgery and chemotherapy.

How Does Radiation Therapy Work?

Across our cancer institute, our oncology experts take an individualized approach to your treatment plan. Radiation therapy targets specific areas of the body, shrinking tumors and killing cancer cells by damaging their DNA.

When treating head, neck, and skin cancer, radiation therapy is usually delivered through one of the following ways:

• External radiation, which delivers radiation in a concentrated beam to keep nearby healthy tissue unaffected.
• Internal radiation guided by ultrasound or using our MRI-guided HDR brachytherapy, a minimally-invasive method that delivers concentrated doses of radiation, keeping healthy nearby tissue safer.
• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), a high-precision treatment option that sees the tumor in its 3D form and directs intense beams in a more targeted procedure.

Throughout your treatment, your nurses and your radiology care team are there to keep you and your support system informed, comfortable, and uplifted.