School of Health Professions expands its rehabilitation services clinical practice at Mays Cancer Center to include speech therapy
The School of Health Professions in September added speech therapy to the rehabilitation services it offers at Mays Cancer Center, home to 91PORN MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The school began offering physical therapy and lymphedema therapy in 2023 for people with cancer or recovering from cancer in its space on the 4th floor of the Urschel building at Mays Cancer Center. As of Sept. 30, the clinic had more than 2,768 appointments since opening, said Director of Practice Operations Stephen Araiza, MHA.
Speech, voice and swallowing rehabilitation services
Communication Sciences and Disorders Assistant Professor/Clinical Alexandria Gawlik, SLPD, CCC-SLP, is now providing speech, voice and swallowing rehabilitation services. These include:
Pretreatment assessment
Occurring between diagnosis and onset of head and neck cancer treatment to obtain baseline measures of speech, voice and swallowing skills, assessments focus on evaluation of articulation and speech intelligibility, voice and resonance, upper airway/respiratory and swallowing function.
For individuals undergoing a total laryngectomy, assessments focus on counseling/education pertaining to communication and alaryngeal voice restoration following surgery.
Follow up care during and after cancer treatment
Tailored to the patient's specific diagnosis and needs using additional treatment approaches, including manual therapy of the head and neck, respiratory muscle strength training (RMST), tongue resistance training, strengthening exercises for swallowing, surface electromyographic (sEMG) biofeedback and trismus therapy to improve jaw opening and range of motion.
Other treatments include McNeil Dysphagia Therapy Program (MDTP), augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) training, voice therapy following treatment for laryngeal cancer, alaryngeal voice and communication rehabilitation following total laryngectomy, and sizing, placement and management of tracheal esophageal voice prosthesis (TEP) for patients following total laryngectomy.
Physical therapy and lymphedema therapy services
Department of Physical Therapy Assistant Professor/Clinical Shammi Anholt, MSPT, CLT-LANA, and Justin Birch, PTA, CLT, provide PT and lymphedema therapy.
PT can help patients experiencing limited upper extremity/lower extremity range of motion and strength, pain, fatigue and/or deconditioning, and who have difficulty walking, balancing and performing basic activities. Lymphedema therapy can help people experiencing swelling of their arms, legs or head and neck region.
PT and lymphedema therapy services include lymphedema management, including family training, myofascial release/manual therapy, strength and conditioning program and neurological rehabilitation. Other services include balance retraining, fatigue management and energy conservation techniques, pre- and post-treatment plans to improve outcomes and education on home exercise programs.
Referrals
Physicians seeking to refer patients for rehabilitation services may call the clinic at 210-450-3417.