Lisette van der Molen

In 2006, I started as a trainee researcher at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. I investigated whether starting speech therapy rehabilitation early can prevent or minimize the adverse side effects of oncological treatment (e.g. swallowing problems). I obtained my PhD for this research in 2011. Partly thanks to the positive results of the study, we now see (almost) all head and neck cancer patients in the Speech Therapy department before oncological treatment starts.

In addition to treating patients, I am still enthusiastically involved in research every week, so that patients are rehabilitated as optimally as possible within our field. This rehabilitation rarely takes place on a mono-disciplinary basis. As coordinator of the head and neck rehabilitation program set up in 2010, I know what the added value and importance of multidisciplinary rehabilitation is. It is precisely by putting together a rehabilitation program in a team of enthusiastic medical and paramedical specialists, which is tailored to the individual needs of the patient, that the patient will be able to return to society more quickly after his or her treatment.

The diversity of the patient population, being able to mean something to the patient, working in a team and the many opportunities that the Netherlands Cancer Institute offers, makes working here very challenging, stimulating and inspiring.