Newswise — Efforts to improve the quality of life in patients recovering from head and neck cancer would be vastly improved by participation in support group activities, according to a new study published in the March 2007 issue of Otolaryngology " Head and Neck Surgery.
The study, which administered quality-of-life (QOL) surveys to 47 patients who had previously undergone treatment for head and neck cancer, determined that support group participants experienced scores significantly better in the areas of eating, emotion, and pain, compared with participants who did not attend support groups. As a result of these findings, the study's authors suggest that support group therapy should be included in regular therapy for head and neck cancer patients.
The study's authors administered the University of Michigan Head and Neck Quality of Life survey, which covers four different categories: head and neck pain, eating and swallowing, communication, and emotional well being. Participants in the support group took part in hour-and-a-half long biweekly multidisciplinary sessions over the course of a year.
The Academy will observe the Yul Brynner Head and Neck Cancer Foundation's Oral, Head & Neck Cancer Awareness Week from April 16 through April 22, 2007, which is designed to both educate and increase public knowledge about oral, head, and neck cancers.
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery is the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS). The study's authors are Kalpesh T. Vakharia, MD; M. Jafer Ali, MD; and Steven J. Wang, MD. They are all part of the Department of Otolaryngology " Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California-San Francisco.
About the AAO-HNSThe American Academy of Otolaryngology " Head and Neck Surgery (www.entnet.org), one of the oldest medical associations in the nation, represents more than 12,000 physicians and allied health professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the ears, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. The Academy serves its members by facilitating the advancement of the science and art of medicine related to otolaryngology and by representing the specialty in governmental and socioeconomic issues. The organization's mission: "Working for the Best Ear, Nose, and Throat Care."
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