Head and Neck Cancer Care at Providence Mission Hospital

When you’re our patient, we don't just treat your head and neck cancer – we treat you. You receive whole-person care for your body, mind and spirit. We are at the forefront of innovation, constantly improving outcomes and learning how to provide even better care for our patients. We provide all of our services in one location, in a serene setting with specialized spiritual care and a meditation garden.

27799 Medical Center Rd, Mission Viejo, CA 92691
1957.5 miles away
844-959-4673

Head and Neck Cancer Care at Providence Mission Hospital

When you’re our patient, we don't just treat your head and neck cancer – we treat you. You receive whole-person care for your body, mind and spirit. We are at the forefront of innovation, constantly improving outcomes and learning how to provide even better care for our patients. We provide all of our services in one location, in a serene setting with specialized spiritual care and a meditation garden.

27799 Medical Center Rd, Mission Viejo, CA 92691
1957.5 miles away
844-959-4673

About Head and Neck Cancers

Head and neck cancers form in the larynx, throat, salivary glands, sinuses or mouth. They are often, but not always, caused by exposure to toxins like alcohol or tobacco, including chewing tobacco.

Our expert oncology team uses the most effective, leading-edge therapies to treat patients with head or neck cancer and its related conditions, including:

  • Head and neck cancer
  • Head and neck skin cancers
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Vocal cord dysfunction

Personalized Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer

We offer a wide range of advanced treatment options for our head and neck cancer patients, from diagnosis to post-treatment support. But your care begins well before treatment. We take care of you as soon as you walk through our doors. Your multidisciplinary care team works with you to design an individualized care plan, which may include one or more of the following:

Systemic therapies travel through the bloodstream and affect cells in other body parts. They are used for patients whose cancer has spread to other areas of the body or if there’s a high risk of spread. Sophisticated genetic analysis allows us to target therapies to specific DNA mutations that cause cancer cells to develop and grow. Systemic therapies include:

  • Chemoradiotherapy
  • Chemotherapy
  • Clinical trials
  • Immunotherapy
  • Targeted therapies (oral and intravenous biologics)

Surgical therapies involve an operation or procedure to remove cancer from the body. Surgery may be the main treatment for some invasive cancers, but it’s only one part of the entire treatment plan. Surgical therapies include:

  • Auriculectomy
  • Composite resection of mandible
  • Endoscopic medial maxillectomy
  • Excision of skin cancer
  • Excision of submandibular gland
  • Free tissue transfer (radial forearm, fibula, scapula, anterolateral thigh)
  • Local rotation flap
  • Mandibulectomy
  • Marginal resection of mandible
  • Modified radical neck dissection
  • Orbital exenteration
  • Parotidectomy
  • Partial or total glossectomy
  • Partial or total laryngectomy
  • Partial or total maxillectomy
  • Pedicled myocutaneous flap
  • Pharyngectomy
  • Rhinectomy
  • Selective neck dissection
  • Transoral laser resection of oropharyngeal/hypopharyngeal/laryngeal tumor
  • Transoral robotic surgery

Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation from a source like X-rays or photons to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. It may be part of a treatment plan that also includes systemic therapies and/or surgery. Radiation is sometimes used to help ease a patient’s pain or discomfort. Radiation therapies include:

  • Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT)

Meet the Team

At Providence, you'll have access to a vast network of dedicated and compassionate providers who offer personalized care by focusing on treatment, prevention and health education.

Female doctor wearing mask, doctors in background

Recognition

U.S. News & World Report - High Performing Hospital in Leukemia, Lymphoma, & Myeloma (2024-25)

American College of Surgeons (ACS) - Commission on Cancer Accredited Program

Testing and Diagnostics

Your doctors use many diagnostic and prognostic tools to learn which therapies work best to treat your cancer. Taking into account factors specific to your case, like cancer type and the genetic or molecular profile of the tumor, these tools may include NavDX monitoring during and after treatment.


Why Choose Us for Your Head and Neck Cancer Care?

As our patient, you have access to the best specialists and a full range of support services for you and your loved ones. We’re able to minimize the time between your diagnosis and treatment with coordinated, whole-person care that always puts you first.

Doctor with patient smiling

Your personalized treatment plan depends on unique factors, from your diagnosis to your personal preferences. Your local oncologists meet regularly with other regional experts to discuss your case. These multidisciplinary tumor boards help us ensure you’re getting the very best treatment, so you don’t have to visit another doctor or specialist yourself.

One thing most patients can count on is that cancer care takes a team! Your multidisciplinary team may include board-certified medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and speech therapists. Our fellowship-trained surgeons specialize in reconstructive head and neck surgery and use the most advanced techniques. This includes our free flap surgery program, one of the only programs of its kind in the region. Patients experience better outcomes from this special reconstructive surgery than from conventional head and neck surgery. In addition, we have specialized speech therapists and an oncology-accredited physical rehabilitation program to help patients with their recovery.

Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but access to great care hasn’t always been the same for everyone. At Providence Mission Hospital, we are deeply committed to making sure every patient we treat has access to the best care. As part of this commitment, we offer the Providence Mission Hospital Fund. This fund helps patients with expenses that aren’t covered by insurance, such as transportation to treatments or grocery gift cards to help provide nutritious meals.

We value, respect and support the racial, ethnic, religious, spiritual, gender and sexual identities of each member of our diverse communities. In keeping with our Mission, Providence offers financial assistance programs that provide free and low-cost care to those who are eligible.

We are part of the Providence Cancer Institute in Orange County, which features world-class oncologists in four hospitals. As our patient, you have access to the largest community-based cancer network in the United States. This means that your local cancer care team shares knowledge and experience with other world-class clinicians across 51 hospitals in seven states. The power of our network is one of the reasons more than 8,500 newly diagnosed cancer patients choose Providence Cancer Institute in Orange County each year.

Providence is known for offering options – and hope – to patients seeking advanced therapies to treat their head or neck cancer. For example, we’re working with other institutions in the area to expand NavDx patient monitoring during and after treatment. This blood test helps detect HPV-driven cancer before symptoms appear or after treatment has finished.

We also partner with the Providence Research Center and other cancer research organizations. As our patient, you can participate in one of our many clinical trials. These include FDA-regulated trials to develop new cancer therapies.


Supporting Our Cancer Patients

Part of treating your illness means supporting and empowering you as a whole person – body, mind and spirit. We provide you with a wide range of support services beyond conventional treatment to help you and your loved ones through your treatment journey as comfortably as possible. Depending on your personal needs, this may include one or more of the following:

  • Beauty services
  • Chapel
  • Chaplain services
  • Counseling
  • Genetic counseling
  • Interpreter services
  • Lymphedema specialists
  • Nurse navigation, multiple languages
  • Meditation garden
  • Multidisciplinary tumor conference
  • Online library of patient education and videos
  • Outpatient services
  • Pain management
  • Patient assistance fund
  • Physical rehabilitation program
  • Spiritual care
  • Support groups
  • Transportation services
  • Women’s health services
Doctor sitting with patient
The Power of Our Network

Part of the Providence Cancer Institute of Orange County

From diagnosis to recovery and beyond, we’re with our patients every step of the way. We’ve integrated three nationally accredited cancer programs – Mission, St. Joseph and St. Jude – to provide you with:

  • Board-certified cancer specialists who collaborate across locations to provide convenient, connected care close to your home or work.
  • Innovative screening that can detect more than 50 types of cancer through a single blood draw.
  • Patient navigators for each cancer type who will help you manage your treatment and find the resources you need.

Learn More About the Providence Cancer Institute of Orange County

Find Clinical Trials

Are you looking for a clinical trial for yourself or for a patient? We’d love to help you find one!

Research and Clinical Trials
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