Recent BBC reports describe a state-of-the-art electronic workstation that can take video pictures deep inside throats helping cancer patients in Wales, UK. This $78,000 piece of equipment was paid for by the Neath Port Talbot Cancer Challenge and generously given to Singleton Hospital in a region southwest of Wales where they have about 150 cases of head and neck cancers a year, a figure about three times the national average.

Singleton Hospital consultant Martin Rolles said the new equipment was already making a big difference to patients, and thanked the charity for their donation: "It is vital in helping to detect any sign of cancer recurrence, and in the diagnosis and treatment of speech and swallowing problems which may be caused by cancer and its treatment."

The workstation electronically measures muscle use allowing doctors to carry out swallowing assessments and plan swallowing therapy, and it also lets patients track their progress when undergoing swallowing therapy by helping them visualize what is happening inside their throats and see how their treatment was making a difference.

We spoke with a local Los Angeles oncologist and she told us that many patients, for a number of reasons, have difficulty swallowing and talking after undergoing surgery for head and neck cancers and the donated workstation would greatly assist both patients and doctors. She told us further that this type of equipment would allow doctors and speech language therapists to monitor patients' progress through treatment, and to help salivary gland cancer patients in particular recuperate afterwards.

A machine like this workstation must be used in conjunction with traditional, time-proven procedures to yield beneficial results. Patients should always talk to their physician about the following options when considering treatments for head, neck, and salivary gland cancers:

•Physical exam and history
•MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
•CT scan (CAT scan)
•PET scan (positron emission tomography scan)
•Ultrasound exam
•Endoscopy
•Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy

Certain factors affect treatment options and prognosis depend on several considerations such as the stage of the cancer (especially the size of the tumor), the type of salivary gland the cancer is in, the type of cancer cells (how they look under a microscope), and the patient's age and general health. For additional information, please contact your local head and neck surgery specialists at www.advancedonc.com

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