What causes swallowing problems after head and neck cancer?
Swallowing problems can occur after cancerous sections of the mouth, throat, or larynx (voice box) are surgically removed and after radiation therapy. The following are some surgeries and therapies that affect swallowing:
- Oral (mouth) surgery: can result in loss of food or liquid from front of mouth and loss of overall control of food, including chewing and swallowing
- Pharynx (throat) surgery: can result in difficulty moving food and liquids from the mouth into esophagus and may aspirate food into the lungs
- Laryngectomy: can have difficulty moving food and liquids from the mouth to the esophagus
- Radiation therapy: can lead to soreness in the mouth and throat, reduced salvia, dry mouth, and limited movement of the remaining structures; may be hard to chew and move food from mouth through the throat; throat pain may lead to less eating
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How common are swallowing problems after head and neck cancer?
Information about how many individuals have swallowing disorders is available in ASHA's report titled "Communication Facts: Special Populations: Dysphagia."
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The ASHA Leader articles
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See Also:
Swallowing Problems After Head and Neck Cancer
Swallowing Problems After Head and Neck Cancer: Benefits of Speech-Language Pathology Services
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