Alive but not living? Functional status and QoL in head and neck cancer. IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER.

Treatment modalities of oral cancer are getting better and so are survival rates, but surgical treatment in head and neck cancer stays very mutilating. This is an important reason why these patients report a lower Quality of life (QoL) than patients suffering from other types of cancer, and little is known about how QoL can be improved (Moore et al., 2014; Torres Carranza et al., 2008). For QoL of oral cancer patients, functional outcomes such as the ability to speak and to masticate and the movement activity, are decisive. Also the (change in) facial appearance and patients’ own experiences, have a profound influence. During this project, head and neck cancer patients will be followed in a multidisciplinary fashion through their treatment trajectory. Objective and quantitative outcomes, such as facial scans, questionnaires and functional measurements, will be examined to investigate different aspects of QOL during and after treatment. The goal is to define relevant quality indicators for head and neck cancer treatment as well as their influence on the QoL.