Head & Neck Cancer

Head and Neck Cancer: FHCI offers the most effective combination of therapies

Although it's mentioned less often in the news than some other cancers, more than 87,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year. That's approximately five percent of all U.S. cancers diagnoses. Here's the good news: more than half a million of those are survivors.

Most head and neck cancers begin in the cells that line the surfaces in the head and neck area-for instance, the mouth, nose, and throat-called mucosal surfaces. Mucosal surfaces are the moist tissues that line hollow organs and cavities of the body open to the environment. These cells look like scales under the microscope, so head and neck cancers are often referred to as squamous (the Latin word for scales) cell carcinomas. They are more common in men and in people over age 50.

Since head and neck cancer patients may require a combination of therapies, such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery, the multidisciplinary approach of the head and neck cancer program seeks to provide the most effective treatment for each patient. The Head and Neck Cancer Program at the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute includes Central Florida's largest group of otolaryngologists (ear, nose, and throat surgeons), as well as radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, and other specialists.