While treatment for cancer can often come with long-term side effects, there is also concern of preserving the function of affected areas by the head and neck cancer. Therefore, rehabilitation has been a larger effort over the years to ensure patients can return to normal activities, such as speaking, eating and more.

Rehabilitation can include physical therapy, dietary counseling, speech therapy, and/or learning how to care for a stoma – an opening into the windpipe after a laryngectomy, through which a patient breathes.

Moreover, these types of cancers may result in reconstructive and plastic surgery, or if those are not options, use of a prosthesis.

However, resources are available to help patients return to their new normal, and to deal with the psychosocial effects related to head and neck cancer.