Head & Neck Cancer Patient & Family

18/01/2026

Tips for Talking to Doctors
Episode 3
John Frasier has been treated for two cancers: prostate cancer and a head and neck cancer.

I interviewed John in 2021 for this Cancer Voices SA video series.

Cancer Voices South Australia: https://cancervoicessa.org.au/

https://youtu.be/JAdtQBk3axw

Julie McCrossin AM interviews cancer survivor John Frasier as part of Cancer Voices SA 2021 "Talking To Doctors" video series.

16/01/2026

🔬 Walk & Talk with Researchers 🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏾🏃🏻‍♀️👩🏻‍🦽
It was so good to meet up this morning with cancer researchers Lisa Ebert, Research Scientist at the Centre for Cancer Biology in Adelaide, Rebekah de Nys, Post Doctoral Researcher at the Gut Cancer Research Group, SAHMRI and fellow cancer advocate and member of Cancer Voices SA Mark Hasselhoff.

On the 3rd Friday of each month a mix of people gather to discuss cancer research and the patient experience - and to get to know each other.

Mark was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma at 17 and managed his treatment during his Year 12 studies. He’s been active in advocacy for 15 years, including with Canteen, and he now has a big interest in the field of survivorship.

Rebecca is active in bowel cancer research and Lisa Ebert studies cancer immunology. Her current research is focussed on developing innovative immune-based therapies for brain cancer, including CAR-T cells and bi-specific T cell engagers; and identifying factors that determine the success of checkpoint blockade immunotherapy in melanoma patients.

Connor Williams dropped in on the way to work as well. Connor’s reasearch has a focus on the needs of Head and Neck Cancer patients: a great passion of mine as I was treated for oropharyngeal (throat) cancer in 2013.

I have to admit I have never actually walked as part of the “Walk & Talk” initiative of Cancer Voices. I am a bit slow because I am older and I have a wonky leg. But next month I will walk. Every conference I go to highlights the evidence that exercise is valuable to support cancer prevention, treatment and recovery. So it’s time to join the walking mob!

Cancer Voices SA: https://cancervoicessa.org.au/

13/01/2026

Tips for Talking to Doctors
Episode 3

“Julie McCrossin AM interviews cancer survivor John Frasier as part of the Cancer Voices SA "Talking To Doctors" video series.

Radiation Oncology: Targeting Cancer
World Radiotherapy Awareness Day

Cancer Voices SA: https://cancervoicessa.org.au/



https://youtu.be/JAdtQBk3axw

Julie McCrossin AM interviews cancer survivor John Frasier as part of Cancer Voices SA 2021 "Talking To Doctors" video series.

09/01/2026

☢️ Thanks Nigel Anderson, Group Director Radiation Therapy ICON Group; Lindy Parfrey, Site Manager Windsor Gardens; Lydia Tamblyn, Site Manager North Adelaide; Dr Peter Gorayski, Radiation Oncologist; and all all the team for your warm welcome & tours today. As a 12-year survivor of oropharyngeal (throat) cancer treated with radiation therapy it is great to learn about your use of the Open-Face Mask with SGRT (Surface Guided Radiation Therapy) & other innovations in technology & clinical practice.

03/01/2026

Proton therapy shows survival benefit in Phase III trial for patients with head and neck cancers.

A new study published today in The Lancet showed a significant survival benefit for patients with oropharyngeal cancers who were treated with proton therapy (IMPT) compared to those treated with traditional radiation therapy (IMRT). The study, led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderso...

31/12/2025

Karen’s story of head and neck cancer: “Running helped me take control back.”

Karen, 51, shares her experience of tongue cancer and treatment, and living with late effects.

29/12/2025

☢️ PARTICLE THERAPY RESEARCH UPDATE
World’s first patient treatments delivered with proton arc therapy
25 Feb 2025 Tami Freeman

“A team at the Trento Proton
Therapy Centre in Italy has delivered the first clinical treatments using proton arc therapy (PAT), an emerging proton delivery technique. Following successful dosimetric comparisons with clinically delivered proton plans, the researchers confirmed the feasibility of PAT delivery and used PAT to treat nine cancer patients, reporting their findings in Medical Physics…

“…Plan comparisons
The Trento researchers – working with colleagues from RaySearch Laboratories – compared the dosimetric parameters of PAT plans with those of state-of-the-art multiple-field optimized (MFO) PBS plans, for 10 patients with head-and-neck cancer. They focused on this site due to the high number of organs-at-risk (OARs) close to the target that may be spared using this new technique.”

Static proton arc therapy: Comprehensive plan quality evaluation and first clinical treatments in patients with complex head and neck targets:
https://aapm.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mp.17669



https://physicsworld.com/a/worlds-first-patient-treatments-delivered-with-proton-arc-therapy/

Proton arc therapy offers a superior dose distribution compared with existing state-of-the-art proton delivery techniques

26/12/2025

Marcus shares his experience of radiotherapy for stage 2 tonsil cancer.

Content note: this video has descriptions of cancer diagnosis and treatment, and contains some mild swear words. Marcus was 56 when he was diagnosed with sta...

22/12/2025

☢️ 👩🏻‍⚕️👨🏻‍⚕️ “Enhancing quality of life among head and neck cancer survivors with nurse-led care during radiotherapy.”

“This study showed that nurse-led survivorship care helped reduce pain and fatigue in head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation therapy. These results match with previous studies, like Lee et al. (2023) [7], who found that nurse-led support improves both physical symptoms and emotional well-being. The positive link between pain and fatigue observed here is also supported by Liu et al. (2022) [8], who highlighted the close connection between these symptoms during cancer recovery. The caregiver interviews revealed emotional challenges, lack of guidance and stress, which agree with findings from Li et al. (2023) [9] who stressed the need for more emotional and practical support for caregivers. Similarly, Martinez et al. (2015) [10] demonstrated that nurse-led phone support can reduce symptoms and decrease hospital visits. Additionally, Rajendran et al. (2021) [11] explored the well-being of breast cancer survivors and found that emotional challenges such as fear, loneliness and low self-esteem significantly affected recovery, further supporting the need for psychosocial care. Altogether, this study supports including nurse-led care in routine cancer management. It not only controls symptoms but also helps caregivers cope better. Future research should focus on long-term outcomes and explore ways to apply this model more broadly.”

The ongoing physical, emotional, and social challenges faced by head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors and their caregivers, particularly after completing treatment is of interest. It should be noted that traditional medical care often overlooks this ...

20/12/2025

Proton beam therapy boosts throat cancer survival, study finds.

“Photon therapy offers strong outcomes in treating oropharyngeal cancers; however, some radiation can reach and damage nearby healthy tissue. The damage can lead to side effects that may be severe for some patients. In a new nationwide study published in The Lancet that included Mayo Clinic, investigators found that patients with oropharyngeal cancer can live longer with fewer side effects if treated with proton beam radiation therapy.”

Photon therapy offers strong outcomes in treating oropharyngeal cancers; however, some radiation can reach and damage nearby healthy tissue. The damage can lead to side effects that may be severe for some patients. In a new nationwide study published in The Lancet that included Mayo Clinic, investig...

18/12/2025

🇬🇧 Mouth Cancer Awareness 🦷
“…the Mouth Cancer Awareness Day held at Royal Cornwall Hospital successfully raised awareness of this condition in the local area and was a sobering experience for all involved.

“The day left all of us with a greater insight into the paucity of information and knowledge related to this critical area and even more determined to continue to raise awareness of cancer and more specifically cancer of the head and neck.”

Mouth Cancer Foundation

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16/12/2025

👁️ Deliver Information Visually

SAHMRI & Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research Webinar “How can we improve the radiation experience for patients & families?”Webinar 1 : ht...