Speech and Language Rehabilitation
The speech-language pathologists at the Henry Ford Cancer Institute are there for you before, during and after your cancer surgery and treatments to help you recover swallowing, speech, and cognitive skills that may have been affected.

Head and Neck Cancer
Our speech-language pathologists participate in the Multidisciplinary Head & Neck Cancer Clinic to provide evaluation and therapy to patients who have received or are currently receiving treatment for head and neck cancer. Whether you're having difficulty swallowing, want to learn more about communicating with a tracheotomy, or need placement and management of a tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis, we have speech-language pathologists who specialize in procedures for head and neck cancer patients. They will follow and provide therapy for you and make sure you have the knowledge and tools necessary to recover your swallowing or communication abilities.
Brain Cancer
If you have a brain tumor or cancer in the language area of the brain that requires surgery, specialized speech-language pathologists work closely with your Neurological Surgeons during evaluation and treatment. Their involvement includes assessment before, during, and after surgery to see how your language abilities have been affected, to assist with language mapping during tumor removal, and to provide therapy after surgery as needed.
Cancer treatment side effects
Cancer and cancer treatments such as chemotherapy can cause mild impairments such as problems with thinking, memory, language skills, learning and concentration. If you are having difficulty thinking clearly or processing information, an inability to focus or concentrate, and mental cloudiness or foggy-headedness, tell your doctor or nurse navigator right away.
You will be referred for a neuropsychology evaluation, and if you need therapy, will be seen by one of our speech-language pathologists. They will work with you to minimize these side effects so they have as little interference in your daily activities as possible.
Appointments
A physician referral is needed before therapies can begin. Most cancer rehabilitation services are reimbursed by health insurance providers, but check your plan for specific rehabilitation benefits. Henry Ford Cancer Institute has specialty outpatient rehabilitation locations all over southeast Michigan to make it as convenient as possible for you to receive cancer rehabilitation services.
Colleen's Corner: Local and National Resources
Online Resources
- The International Association of Laryngectomees
- American Cancer Society: Swallowing Problems
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association:
Learn More About Our Resources