Head & Neck Cancer

How We Treat Head & Neck Cancer

Radiation can be used before head and neck cancer surgery to shrink the tumor or after surgery to kill any cancer cells left in the area. It is often delivered in conjunction with chemotherapy and targeted mediations. Head and neck cancers occur when cancerous cells develop in the head and neck area, including the mouth, throat, and nasal cavity. Usually, cancers of the head and neck begin in the moist lining of mucosal surfaces or the tissue lining of organs with hollow openings. Treatments are scheduled Monday through Friday over the course of several weeks. In some cases, we can delivery higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments.

Your treatment is custom-tailored and unique to your diagnosis, tumor size, location and involvement. Your radiation oncologist (a doctor who specializes in treating cancer with radiation) will review all available treatment options and recommend a personalized plan for you based on national guidelines, which guide all cancer treatments. Radiation therapy is used either alone or in combination with other treatments such as chemotherapy and surgery.

Radiation can be delivered either from outside the body with a machine called a linear accelerator (external beam radiation) or from a radiation source implanted permanently or temporarily in the body (brachytherapy).

Surrounded by a team of cancer care experts

We’ve assembled a highly skilled team of doctors, physician assistants, nurses and radiation therapists to take care of you. Because we want to minimize your worries, we also provide you with access to a financial counselor, a genetic counselor, massage and acupuncture therapists, volunteers and support staff – all of whom, live in your community. We are grateful that you trust us to take care of you. We promise to treat you like we would want one of our beloved family members – our patients describe our cancer center as “like being home”.

Your Rocky Mountain cancer care team is here to answer your questions, help ease your concerns and partner with you during every step of your treatment. And knowing that your specialized care team is close to home is as important to us as it is to you.