Head & Neck Cancer Alliance, in collaboration with the American Head & Neck Society, is hosting a free webinar, Intimacy in the Head and Neck Cancer Population, on January 26, 2021 from 4-5 PM EST. The webinar was moderated by Heather M. Starmer MA CCC-SLP, BCS-S and features Nicole Barr RN, NP, LMFT as the medical speaker, Mr. Jonathan Kaplan as the survivor speaker, and Dr. Carole Fakhry, HNCA Board of Directors and AHNS Survivorship Service Committee.
Medical Moderator: Heather M. Starmer, MA CCC-SLP, BCS-S
Clinical Associate Professor
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery
Director, Head and Neck Cancer Speech and Swallowing Rehabilitation
Stanford Cancer Center
Heather Starmer is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University, and the Director of the Head and Neck Speech and Swallowing Rehabilitation Center at the Stanford Cancer Center. Professor Starmer completed her Bachelor’s Degree at California State University Long Beach and her Master’s Degree at the University of Pittsburgh. She joined the Stanford faculty in 2014 to develop the Head and Neck Speech and Swallowing Rehabilitation Center.
Professor Starmer specializes in the evaluation and rehabilitation of communication and swallowing disorders associated with head and neck cancer. She has worked with patients following total laryngectomy for over 20 years. Her research interests include use of technology to optimize patient outcomes, developing strategies to enhance therapeutic rehabilitation, and the relationship between head and neck lymphedema and functional impairments of communication and swallowing.
Medical Presenter: Nicole Barr RN, NP, LMFT
Nurse Practitioner & Psychotherapist
Psychosocial Oncology Department
Stanford Cancer Center
Nicole is a Nurse Practitioner with more than 15 years of experience in Oncology as well as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She works at Stanford as a NP serving patients who need psychiatric evaluation and management during cancer treatment and in private practice as a couple's therapist. Initially trained as a Family NP with a subspeciality in Women's Health, she has a longstanding interest in sexuality, wellness, and relationships during and after illness experiences.
Survivor Presenter: Jonathan Kaplan
Jonathan is delighted to have the opportunity to present his thoughts at today's symposium. He looks forward to discussing his experience as a single man looking for love after treatment. Jonathan was first diagnosed with HPV related head and neck cancer in 2010. He was again diagnosed with head and neck cancer in February of 2019. Jonathan is proof that despite a head and neck cancer diagnosis, after treatment it is possible to return to a normal, active and healthy lifestyle after treatment.
Jonathan spends his working days serving as General Counsel to Headspin, Inc. He also spent 10 years as GC at ChargePoint, where he helped usher in the electric vehicle revolution. During his free time, Jonathan enjoys hiking, cooking, reading and (when COVID allows) being with friends. He and his son head to Alaska each year to enjoy camping in America's last great wilderness.
HNCA Board of Directors and AHNS Survivorship Service Committee: Carole Fakhry, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Fakhry earned her medical degree at Johns Hopkins University, where she also completed her internship, residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and fellowship in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery. Dr. Fakhry serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at Johns Hopkins University. She also has appointments in the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Department of Oncology and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology. Her clinical and research interests include determining the prognostic significance of human papillomavirus in head and neck cancers, understanding the changing landscape of head and neck cancer, oral HPV natural history, and innovative mechanisms for the screening and early discovery of oropharyngeal cancers. She serves as Associate editor for Oral Oncology, science advisory board member for Oral Cancer Foundation, as well as various peer review activities.