Laine Bowman, OTR

Laine Bowman has been a practicing Occupational Therapist for over 30 years and is the therapy Team Leader for the Pelvic Health and Lymphedema Clinic at The University of Kansas Health System. She holds a B.S. in Occupational Therapy form the University of Kansas and a M.A. in Adult and Continuing Education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She specializes in oncology rehabilitation and lymphedema management for head and neck cancer survivors. Laine is passionate about improving the quality of life from the long-term effects of head and neck cancer treatment. She is married to Brent Bowman, and they have one son, who is a first-year internal medicine resident at the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Brian Burkey, MD, FACS

Vice-chairman and Section Head of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology
Cleveland Clinic Head and Neck Institute
Cleveland, OH

Brian Burkey, MD, FACS is currently Vice Chairman and Section Head of the Section of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic Head and Neck Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Brian Burkey also serves as the Medical Director of the Center for Consumer Health Information within the Education Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He spent 20 years at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, rising to Professor of Otolaryngology and Vice Chairman within that department. He finished his undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University before obtaining his medical degree at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and completed his Otolaryngology residency training at the University of Michigan and fellowship in Microvascular and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Ohio State University. His practice has an emphasis on head and neck oncologic and microvascular reconstructive surgery. Dr. Burkey has been an active member of the American Head and Neck Society, serving on the Educational, Website, and Bylaws committees, and just completed his second term on the Council, comprising over twelve years of service. Dr. Burkey is currently the secretary of the American Head and Neck Society.

Dr. Mark S. Chambers, D.M.D, M.D

Chief, Section of Oral Oncology and Maxillofacial Prosthodontics
Department of Head and Neck Surgery
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Mark S. Chambers, D.M.D., M.S is a tenured professor and clinical investigator in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Surgery and in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Dr. Mark Chambers is the Deputy Chair for the Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Chief of the Section of Oral Oncology and Maxillofacial Prosthodontics. He completed his undergraduate studies at Brescia College before obtaining his medical degree at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. He completed his residency training at the University of Louisville in Combined Prosthodontics, The Veterans Administration Medical Center, as well as The James Graham Brown Cancer Center in Maxillofacial Prosthetics and Dental Oncology in Louisville, KY. He completed his fellowship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, in the Advanced Education Program in Maxillofacial Prosthodontics and Oral Oncology. Dr. Chambers is a current member of the American Head and Neck Society.

Dr. D. Gregory Farwell, FACS

Professor and Vice Chair, Director of Head and Neck Oncology and Microvascular Surgery
UC Davis Health
Sacramento, CA

D. Gregory Farwell, MD, FACS is a Professor and Chair Department of Otolaryngology and Director of Head and Neck Oncology and Microvascular Surgery at The University of California, Davis Health Center in Sacramento, CA. Dr. Gregory Farwell completed his undergraduate studies at Drury University in Springfield, MO before obtaining his medical degree at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. He completed his residency at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA and his fellowship at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Research Center in Seattle, WA. Dr. Chambers specialties include but are not limited to Otolaryngology (Ears, Nose, Throat), Cancer, Thyroid, Parathyroid, Reconstructive Surgery, Robotic Surgery, Head and Neck surgery, Otolaryngology. He is a current member of the American Head and Neck Society and the Certified Board Member of the American Board of Otolaryngology.

Dr. Dennis Kraus, MD, FACS

Executive enterprise Director of Oncology, Centura Health Colorado

Dennis Kraus, MD, is the Executive Enterprise Director of Oncology at Centura Health. He serves as the chair of the Lenox Hill Hospital Cancer Committee, a member of the Cancer Oversight Committee for the Northwell Health System, and a Professor of Otolaryngology at Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Dr. Kraus attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine, completed his residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, OH, and his fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is currently a member of the Board of Governors for the American College of Surgeons and the Otolaryngology Advisory Council.

Dr. Bill Lydiatt, MD

ENT-Otolaryngologist
Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center
Omaha, NE

Bill Lydiatt, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Surgery at Nebraska Methodist Hospital, Clinical Professor of Surgery at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, and a Clinical Professor of Otolaryngology at the United States Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia. He is also a lecturer at the UNMC College of Medicine and Dentistry and teaches an undergraduate and graduate course in the Department of Biology called the Art and Science of Medical Decision Making at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. He received a BS in Biology from Stanford University, MD and Residency in Otolaryngology at the University of Nebraska, fellowship in head and neck surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and an EMBA from the University of Colorado. He has had over 20 years of practice in head and neck surgery and is currently a Ear, Nose, and Throat Otolaryngologist.

Dr. Terrance T. Tsue, MD, FACS

Vice President and Physician-in-Chief
Douglas A Girod, MD, Endowed Professor of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, University of Kansas Medical School
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
Kansas City, KS

Terry Tsue, MD, FACS, is the current Physician in Chief at The University of Kansas Cancer Center. He is nationally recognized for his expertise in microvascular reconstructive surgery for head and neck cancers and, specifically, microvascular reconstruction of the jaw. Dr. Tsue is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has served on the faculty of the University of Kansas School of Medicine since 1996, becoming the Douglas A. Girod, MD, Endowed Professor of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and vice chairman, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery in 2008. In 2012, he was appointed physician in chief of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, part of the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Dr. Bruce Cummings, D.D.S

Prosthodontist
Kansas City, MO

Dr. Bruce Cummings, D.D.S, is a well-known Kansas City specialist in Prosthodontics. He received his D.D.S. from University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry in 1985. He returned to UMKC School of Dentistry for a post-doctoral residency in Fixed and Removable Prosthodontics where he completed advanced training in complex, comprehensive, implant and restorative dental reconstruction. In 1991 he opened his own private Prosthodontics practice where he specializes in reconstructive rehabilitative dental care with an emphasis on cosmetic and implant prosthodontics. Kansas City Magazine listed Dr. Cummings as one of the Top Dentists in Kansas City, selected by his peers, for many consecutive years. Bruce has been an Assistant Clinical Professor, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the UMKC School of Dentistry in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program. He has lectured extensively on dental prosthodontics to numerous dental organizations and dental study clubs. He is the founder, and leader, of the Cummings Dental Study Club, which is a component of the world’s foremost dental educators at Spear Education.

Past Members

Dr. Randall S. Weber, FACS

Professor and Chair, Department of Head and Neck Surgery
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Randal S. Weber, M.D., FACS, is an internationally recognized head and neck surgeon and expert in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer. Dr. Weber is Professor and Chair of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. After earning his medical degree from University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences Medical School in Memphis, TN he completed his fellowship in The Department of Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX and residencies in surgery and otolaryngology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Dr. Weber has consistently been named one of America’ s Top Doctors by the Castle Connolly Guide and is currently a member of the American Head and Neck Society Foundation.

Dr. Clifford VanBlarcom, D.D.S

Prosthodontist (retired)
Kansas City, KS

Clifford VanBlarcom, DDS was a specialist in prosthodontics. He received his D.D.S. from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, and his masters from the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, MI and The University of Minnesota School of Graduate Studies. Dr. VanBlarcom was a clinical instructor of prosthodontics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a clinical instructor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and on the Medical Staff in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at KU Med. He served as a member for many Committees including Kansas Board of Dental Examiners, Missouri Board of Dental Examiners, American Board of Prosthodontics, American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics, American College of Prosthodontists, Academy of Prosthodontics, Academy of Prosthodontics Foundation, Federation of Prosthodontic Organizations, American Cleft Palate Association, American Dental Association, Kansas Dental Association, and The Fifth District Dental Society in Johnson County, KS. He served as a Surgical Staff member at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO, Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Merriam, KS, St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, MO, St. Mary’s Hospital in Kansas City, MO, Trinity Lutheran Hospital in Kansas City, MO, The University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, KS, and The Blackfeet Community Hospital in Browning, MT. He is currently the president of The VanBlarcom Foundation.