Information
To learn more about cancer survivorship research at Sylvester, please call 305-243-3329 or
email Survivorship Research.
Your Life Beyond Cancer
Cancer survivorship doesn’t begin only after treatment. It starts the day you’re diagnosed. Whether you’re in the middle of treatment or moving into the next phase of your recovery, survivorship support remains important throughout your journey. It’s normal to feel hopeful about your future while also wondering what comes next. That’s why the team at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System, is here to help you feel supported at every step — so you can not only survive, but truly thrive.
Sylvester is home to the Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship Wellness Clinic focused on your needs from diagnosis throughout the continuum of your life.
This clinic serves survivors of the following types of head and neck cancers:
- Advanced cutaneous head and neck cancers (including melanoma)
- Hypopharynx
- Larynx
- Nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses
- Nasopharynx
- Oral cavity
- Oropharynx (HPV-positive/negative)
- Salivary gland tumors
- Skull-base tumors
- Thyroid cancer
- Unknown primary of the head and neck
Your Personalized Survivorship Care Plan
During and following your cancer treatment at Sylvester, our survivorship care team can help address your concerns — from worries about recurrence to long-term ability to speak, swallow, and eat in public. You may also have concerns about voice changes or persistent dry mouth. After your initial in-person or telehealth visit, you should feel reassured, heard, and equipped with actionable tools for your day-to-day life.
You’ll receive a written, personalized survivorship care plan designed to help you meet your health, wellness, and lifestyle goals. You will also be introduced to services, programs, and resources tailored to the needs of head and neck cancer survivors.
Your personalized survivorship care plan includes:
- A summary of your diagnosis and treatments
- Head and neck cancer–specific follow-up visits (supplementing, not replacing your regular primary care)
- Your site-specific surveillance schedule
- Clear red-flag symptoms
- Referrals for swallowing, nutrition, dental care, exercise, side-effect management, and psychosocial support
- Contact information
- Clear next steps
Sylvester’s Innovative Services for Survivors of Head and Neck Cancers
While you can’t control much of your experience with cancer, you can take an active role in your survivorship journey. Caring for your body and mind can improve your quality of life and help lower your chances of recurrence.
We make it easier to access care through virtual visits and online Zoom classes. Some services are offered in person, others via telehealth, and select services are available by referral only.
Swallow and Voice Rehabilitation Pathway
This early-to-late phase dysphagia and voice program is led by our speech-language pathologist and may include lymphedema therapy and trismus management using home devices and myofascial techniques.
Exercise Oncology and Physical/Occupational Therapy
Personalized programs address post-radiation fatigue, neck and shoulder mobility, posture, jaw mobility, neuropathy safety, radiation fibrosis, and graded aerobic conditioning to restore function and endurance.
Nutritional Guidance
Personalized nutrition and feeding strategies help address weight loss, taste changes, dry mouth, aspiration risk, PEG tube weaning, dental protection, and safe swallowing after treatment.
Emotional, Social, and Psychological Support
Support is available for anxiety, depression, scanxiety, body image concerns, coping strategies, peer groups (including HPV-positive and laryngectomy communities), caregiver support, return-to-work planning, and financial navigation.
Monitoring for Recurrence and Secondary Cancers
Surveillance may include clinical exams, imaging when indicated, thyroid function testing, skin checks, smoking cessation support, dental surveillance, and ctHPV-DNA testing for eligible patients.
Managing Your Side Effects, Improving Your Life
Our survivorship services can help manage long-term and late-onset side effects such as:
- Xerostomia and dental caries
- Dysphagia and aspiration risk
- Trismus and jaw pain
- Neck and face lymphedema
- Voice and airway changes
- Radiation fibrosis and neck stiffness
- Hearing loss and tinnitus
- Neuropathy and shoulder dysfunction
- Endocrine dysfunction (hypothyroidism)
- Bone and dental complications
- Late vascular risks
Your Team of Dedicated Experts
At Sylvester’s Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship Clinic, you can count on a team of experts to partner with you in your survivorship care.
Your survivorship care will be coordinated by Sylvester providers from:
- Advanced Practice Providers (ARNPs, PAs)
- Audiology
- Dental/Oral Medicine
- Dermatology
- Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT)
- Endocrinology
- Head and Neck Surgery
- Lymphedema Therapy
- Medical Oncology
- Nutrition (Oncology Dietitians)
- Occupational Therapy
- Pain and Palliative Care
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Primary Care
- Prosthodontics
- Psychology/Psychiatry and Social Work
- Radiation Oncology
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Survivorship Physician Assistant
Start Your Wellness Journey
Your wellness journey starts after completing your first course of therapy. A referral from your oncology provider is required.
To learn more or request an appointment, call 305-243-4922.
Why Choose Sylvester
Survivorship and Supportive Care Institute. One of the only dedicated survivorship institutes of its kind in Florida.
NCI-designated cancer center. Recognized for excellence in research, treatment, and community outreach.
Comprehensive care. Multidisciplinary, evidence-based, personalized care.
Research leadership. Advancing survivorship science to improve long-term quality of life.
