DocMooreSLP

At my hospital I have the opportunity to work with the total laryngectomy community. You can look at my previous post here about TEP placements! There have been a lot of questions lately on private SLP community groups regarding working with individuals post total laryngectomy. Therefore, I decided that this month’s blog post should be a little unique. William Cross, an administrator of the WebWhisperers Facebook group and total laryngectomy, agreed for an interview. I truly believe that a patient’s perspective is invaluable. I have learned so much from Mr. Cross in his posts on the WebWhispers page. He is an invaluable mentor to so many individuals. I hope all of you enjoy his interview and wisdom he is sharing with all of us! Mr. Cross, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you tell me about your laryngectomy journey? I was losing weight and I had COPD and GERD. I actually had LPR, as it went to my larynx. If I didn’t have the COPD or LPR they should have se...

Individuals with cognitive-communication challenges and dysphagia and their caregivers face a battle that can be unimaginable. A traumatic brain injury, stroke, or cancer can significantly change an individual’s ability to effectively communicate or swallow. These changes can lead to an individual feeling isolated, frustrated, and/or depressed. A speech-language pathologist is part of these individuals plan of care for rehabilitation. More often then not, when working with a speech-language pathologist, counseling is a component of rehabilitation. Sometimes the lines between a speech-language pathologist and a psychologist can be blurred. It is always best for the speech-language pathologist and the patient to collaborate with the appropriate medical team such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, or the patient’s referring physician when depression or harm to oneself or others is discussed. As speech-language pathologists what can we do? There are numerous options but here are j...

            One of my new favorite morning routines is to listen to a short podcast. For those of you who are unfamiliar with podcasts, they are audio files that are available on the internet to download. I don’t know why I didn’t start listening to these until this year! I love listening to these podcasts while I am getting ready for work or when I am driving to my work. Podcasts for the field of speech language pathology can be a bit tricky to find. So I thought I would share my top 15 podcasts. These are in no particular order! Happy listening and learning! 1.      Head & Neck Cancer Update - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/head-neck-cancer-update/id271087477?mt=2 2.      JAMA Specialty Journals - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/specialty-journals-author/id463469292?mt=2 3.      ENT expert opinion - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/en...

Receiving the diagnosis of head and neck cancer (HNC) is a life changing experience. An individual who receives this diagnosis faces the possibility of undergoing surgery and/or chemo-radiotherapy (CRT). With either of these potential life-saving options, one’s ability to speak or swallow may be substantially affected. Thus, intervention from a speech-language pathologist (SLP) is needed to improve upon altered communication and dysphagia. A therapy technique that may be beneficial for individuals post HNC is myofascial release. Myofascial release is a therapeutic intervention that involves massage to the muscles and fascia. (Kelly, 2014: Myofascial, n.d; Shah & Bhalara, 2012). Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds the muscles. There are three layers of fascia, the superficial fascia (directly under the skin), deep fascia (embedded into muscles), and subserous fascia (lines the body cavities and organs) (Kelly, 2014: Myofascial, n.d; Shah & Bhalara, 2012...