It is my pleasure to run for Vice-Chair of the survivorship service. Over the last two years, I have been involved with drafting several patient-facing pages and topical reviews for the AHNS and working with other members to publish a consensus statement on survivorship from our group. My prior experience has also included research into caregiver and survivor health as well as organizing a local survivorship conference with our local support group. I am humbled by the significant experience and passion that the members of our group bring to cancer survivorship. In this position, I hope to leverage the experience of each member and their respective institution to collectively improve what we are able to offer our patients at our individual programs. Additionally, I believe we can evaluate possible supportive care interventions that can be implemented at multiple sites, such as interventions targeted toward caregivers.  Thank you for your consideration.

Neerav Goyal MD MPH FACS
Associate Professor of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Neurosurgery, and Public Health Sciences
Chief, Division of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center
Penn State College of Medicine
Penn State Cancer Institute

I am a speech-language pathologist and the Director of Head and Neck Speech and Swallowing Rehabilitation at the Stanford Cancer Center.  In this role, I focus both my clinical practice and research on issues of survivorship in patients with head and neck cancer; particularly issues with lymphedema, communication, and swallowing.  As such, I bring the unique viewpoint of a non-surgeon to this committee.  Each year I plan and facilitate a full day patient and caregiver education day at Stanford.  Recently this has included the formulation of a patient/caregiver stakeholder group which provides me with additional insight into the lived experience of head and neck cancer survivors and their caregivers. My experience in planning survivorship events as well as participating in the current Head and Neck Cancer Alliance survivorship series has provided me with organizational skills and vision regarding strategies to improve survivorship in patients with head and neck cancer. It would be my honor to provide this unique perspective to benefit the committee as vice chair of the AHNS Survivorship service.

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