“Head & Neck” cancers are those of the mouth, throat and voice box, as well as the saliva glands and sinuses. Confusingly, the term Head & Neck does not include brain tumours, which are quite different.
The head and neck area is important to how we look, speak and eat. So when cancer develops in this area, it presents an enormous challenge. Treating the cancer while minimising the effects on appearance and function is a fine balance, and generally requires a multi-disciplinary team approach.
I am a specialist in radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy for head and neck cancers. The radiotherapy in particular is very complex, and uses cutting edge technology such as IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy), IGRT (Image Guided Radiotherapy) and Volumetric Arc Therapy (VMAT) to strike the best balance between getting maximum dose to the tumour while avoiding the other closely sensitive organs.
I use techniques that I first learned at the renowned Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, informed by the most up-to-date research.