Andrew T. Day, M.D., M.P.H.

Meet Dr. Day

Life after a head and neck cancer diagnosis is hard enough. Struggling to navigate head and neck cancer care after a diagnosis can make life even harder. The head and neck cancer team at UT Southwestern wants to help patients avoid this experience.

“We partner with patients in their journey towards long-term head and neck cancer survivorship,” says Andrew T. Day, M.D., M.P.H., a head and neck cancer and reconstructive surgeon at UT Southwestern.

There are often multiple treatment options for patients with head and neck cancer, and each option has a unique side-effect profile with different risks and benefits. “This decision-making process can be confusing and challenging for patients, especially because sometimes there isn’t a ‘right’ answer,” says Dr. Day. “We provide patients with the best available evidence and support them in their decision-making process. We want to empower patients to make the best treatment choice for them.”

At UT Southwestern, patients receive advanced, multidisciplinary head and neck cancer care. The team includes seven fellowship-trained head and neck cancer and reconstructive surgeons, three radiation oncologists, and two medical oncologists, as well as other facial plastic and reconstructive surgeons, pathologists, neuroradiologists, dentists, speech and language pathologists, nurse specialists, nurse navigators, dietitians, clinical trialists, clinical and basic science researchers, and administrative staff.

“We’ve all dedicated our careers to help patients with head and neck cancer. Everyone contributes and we work together. We’re proud of what we have here.” Each patient is discussed at the multidisciplinary tumor board where everyone has an opportunity to provide input. “Then we share the results of the discussion with our patients,” says Dr. Day.

The head and neck cancer team at UT Southwestern is also at the cutting edge of clinical care and research. “In the last fifteen years, head and neck cancer care in the U.S. has evolved significantly,” says Dr. Day.

Different types of head and neck cancer were discovered. Transoral robotic surgery was pioneered and popularized. The concept of treatment “de-intensification” is now widely studied. Additionally, immunotherapy has recently been shown to prolong survival in select head and neck cancer patients.

“Members of our group have been at the frontline of many of these advances," Dr. Day says. "We fail our patients if we don’t provide access to the best available treatments in surgery, radiation, medical oncology, and immunology.”

In addition to traditional cancer resections and other head and neck procedures, Dr. Day performs minimally-invasive transoral laser microsurgery and transoral robotic surgery.  He also performs complex reconstructive surgery for patients with head and neck cancer defects. His research focuses on health outcomes of head and neck cancer patients, early detection of head and neck cancer, and improving quality of life and survival in head and neck cancer survivors.