Lauril is pictured with Ms Hang and Ms Sa when they met in Vietnam in 2018

Thanks to TFA’s Beyond Borders program, a special project and collaborative team has evolved. Vietnamese Speech Therapist Ms Hang Tran of Cho Ray Hospital has teamed up with interpreter Ms Y Sa, TFA mentor Lauril Sachet, CCC-SLP of the USA and her colleagues at the University of New Mexico, Dr. Phyllis Palmer, PhD SLP and graduate student clinician Jacob Graves. Their aim is to improve access to ST services for patients undergoing head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment at Cho Ray hospital. Ms. Hang has worked to establish a referral pathway with the hospital’s radiation, surgery, and oncology departments to better capture patients at risk of developing dysphagia while undergoing HNC treatment. Mr. Graves has initiated literature reviews to identify current evidence based practices surrounding exercise protocols for this unique population. To better address need of high volumes of patients, the team is developing a series of instructional videos targeting oral care, dysphagia awareness, and swallow exercises to better support safe and efficient swallowing for patients with head and neck cancer. According to Lauril Sachet, “The potential impact of this project is very exciting and I’m grateful to TFA for their support and ability to continue collaborating with Ms. Hang.”