Each month a group of survivors come together to share, learn and work together to do more than survive head and neck cancer; they come together to thrive, and for some, beat cancer altogether.

The Head and Neck Cancer Survivors Group meets on the second Wednesday of every month in Madigan Healthcare System's Richmond Conference Room at 1 p.m. The group is led by Cathy Blank, a speech pathologist in Madigan's Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic. Each month Blank creates a theme or topic for the meetings that include speakers and hands-on experience with a new technology that makes life easier for the survivors. The group has filled the conference room to capacity at times and the members of the group speak very highly of the meetings.

"We have a wide range of folks attend and our plan is to touch on a variety of things. Not just cancer related issues, but other things that are involved in being a survivor like general health, support systems and relaxation," said Blank. 
In March, one of Madigan's Registered Dietitians, Nora Patterson spoke with the group about cancer fighting foods and detailed the types of foods that have been shown to prevent and fight different types of cancers.
"There are a large percentage of cancers that are preventable by lifestyle changes," said Patterson. "The concept is that the interactions of foods together can help to fight cancer."
In the class Patterson cooked soup, smoothies and muffins for those that attended and provided recipes that included a number of the foods she discussed. She offered not only knowledge on diet, but cooking and incorporating the foods into life.
After the presentation is over, the members of the group lingered asking each other about missing members.
"When something like this happens you don't see a lot of people who have this," said Mike Bush, a member of the support group. "The first thing we walked in here today and said has anyone see Louis? He had a reoccurrence and we talked about how he's doing."
It's clear that while their battle may be personal, the group has shown them they are not alone.
"Getting the group together is nice because we see that there are others, it's not just you," said Kiyomi Ozanich who attends with her husband Mike who has been battling throat cancer successfully for more than 10 years. It is not just patients who attend the support group, a number of them bring along their spouse. 
Some of the topics are not cheery, but are intended to prepare them for the issues they might deal with along the way.
"They had the social worker come and talk about resources available," said Kiyomi.
"They brought the lady here to talk about hospice care and I know who I need to go talk to if I need it," said Bush.
The groups' members are being provided an opportunity to come to Madigan not just for their medical procedures, but also for the support they need. In the end the group provides each of them with the knowledge they need to steer their own ship on the journey to beating cancer, for good.
May 8 to the 14 is Head and Neck Cancer Week. Madigan will be participating in the recognition by providing free screenings for patients in the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic on May 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. The screenings will be provided on a walk-in basis. Any Veterans Affairs beneficiary can also receive a free screening at the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Healthcare System-American Lake (previously known as American Lake Veterans Administration Hospital). Those screenings will take place from 8:20 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. and require an appointment. To make an appointment, call John Ortiz at (253) 583-1298.