Swallowing Therapy

Protect your health and minimize the side effects of head and neck cancer treatments with speech therapy services at Stamford Health’s Bennett Cancer Center.

If you’re receiving treatment for head and neck cancer, you’ll work closely with a speech-language pathologist (SLP) to determine the best head and neck exercises and schedule for you.

When performing these exercises, be sure to:

• Sit upright in a chair
• Maintain good posture
• Use a mirror or a friend to help monitor your performance
• Take breaks to rinse your mouth and rest as needed

Try to make your exercises fun and incorporate them into your daily activities as you can. Consider completing them while waiting at a red light or while watching your favorite television series.

Stop any exercise immediately if you feel new discomfort and notify your speech-language pathologist or doctor.

Treatments for head and neck cancer such as chemotherapy and radiation treatment place you at risk for difficulty swallowing even after you have completed your course of treatment. To help prevent delayed side effects it is recommended to continue your swallow exercises on a weekly basis even after treatment is completed. Please plan to meet with your Speech-Language Pathologist to discuss how often you should be completing your exercises.

Generally, if you are not experiencing any difficulty swallowing or require any changes to how you prepare your food or beverage it is recommended you complete your exercises once through, two to three times a week.