Source: abcnews.go.com Author: Mary Kekatos Just six weeks ago, Greg DeStefano began a new chemotherapy combination. The 50-year-old, from Northbrook, Illinois, had recently been diagnosed with his fourth round of cancer and doctors were hopeful the medication would treat the tumors growing in his neck. DeStefano was responding well, but then, in late May, he got a call from his doctor and was told one of the three drugs he was receiving -- carboplatin -- was under a global shortage and because of the way the hospital had to prioritize treatments, he wouldn't be qualified to receive it anymore. "We're frustrated because not only are we dealing with cancer, now we have to deal with a drug shortage of a pretty critical drug," DeStefano told ABC News. DeStefano's experience is similar to thousands across the United States of patients either having delayed treatment or being unable to receive treatment because of cancer drug shortages. At least 11 oncology medications are currently in short supply, according to an ABC News analysis of data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Among them are carboplatin, used to treat ovarian and head and neck cancer; azacytidine, which treats a form of leukemia; and dacarbazine, used to treat skin cancer. "We've experienced drug shortages, intermittency, my entire career, it has always been a challenge," Julie Kennerly-Shah, associate director of pharmacy at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, told ABC News. "The past six months have been the most challenging in my career for [...]

Source: mmheadlines.org Author: Michigan Medicine staff The management of voice and breathing disorders is a subspecialty of speech-language pathology (SLP). Disorders of the voice and breathing can occur across the lifespan from infants to the elderly. The causes of voice disorders are extremely broad and may be congenital or acquired. These include physiologic or anatomic pathology of the upper airway from underlying neurologic conditions, trauma, head/neck cancer or ineffective voice production strategies. As we age, changes in the underlying substructure of the larynx may also result in changes to the voice. An estimated 30% of adults may experience challenges associated with a voice disorder. The quality-of-life impact of voice disorders can result in social isolation as well as interfere with an individual’s ability to engage in their profession and avocational activities. Breathing disorders include chronic cough and throat clearing, symptomatic shortness of breath without a primary pulmonary cause, and other functional conditions of the upper airway such as paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder, in which the vocal folds move in inappropriate ways and interfere with breathing. Prior to therapy, patients require a comprehensive examination of the larynx and other aspects of the vocal apparatus to help inform the plan of care. The management of head and neck disorders is another subspecialty of speech-language pathology. Head and neck SLPs typically see patients ranging in age from teens to adults. Patients are often seen in conjunction with surgeons/physicians for collaborative evaluation and individually for evaluation and treatment. Head and neck SLPs provide [...]