Special Issues in Effectively Palliating Head and Neck Cancer (FR430)

Abstract

1.Gain an initial understanding of the vital role of surgical interventions in palliating distress and optimizing quality of life in head and neck cancer patients.2.Review current data and use concrete clinical examples to identify unique palliative care needs of head and neck cancer patients that require co-management by surgeons and palliative care clinicians.3.Identify at least two opportunities and strategies that foster effective partnerships between surgeons and palliative care clinicians in your local environment. Cancers of the head and neck, which include cancers of the oral cavity, larynx, pharynx, salivary glands, and nose/nasal passages, account for 3% of all malignancies in the United States. As a nation, we spend approximately $3.6 billion annually on treatments for head and neck cancer, but much of these efforts are devoted to standard treatments for head and neck cancer, including radiation therapy and surgery and, for certain types of head and neck cancer, chemotherapy. Little is done to palliate the tremendous bio-psycho-social and cultural pain and symptom burden experienced by these patients, even though this cancer is associated with disfigurement and serious body image issues that cause guilt and shame, which these patients often bear in silence and isolation. Thus, this cancer offers a unique opportunity for partnerships between ENT and reconstruction surgeons and palliative care clinicians in co-managing these patients to improve their quality of life and mitigate distress. In this unique session, which will be co-presented by an anterior skull base surgery and microvascular reconstruction ENT surgeon and a palliative care physician, we will describe key aspects of creating a successful partnership between the surgical and palliative care services. Using video case examples of two head and neck cancer patients (one early stage and one late-stage disease), we will discuss the unique symptom burden these patients bear and identify effective ways to prophylax and palliate these needs during various points in the trajectory of their illness.