Scroll Top
Who we are & what we do
The South African Head and Neck Oncology Society is a subgroup of the South African Society of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.

Mission Statement

We are a community of head and neck health care professionals who exist to help people with head and neck cancer, through building unity among different head and neck disciplines, with the goal of bringing value based, patient-centred care to prolong and restore quality of life.

We maintain a fun, wildly productive culture that fully supports our mission and values. Based on this ethos of patients first, we enable Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs) to collaboratively provide the best care possible in some of the most complex head and neck oncology cases.

We are concerned about how difficult it can be for patients with head and neck cancer to find the right doctors and team for them. SAHNOS exists to bridge this gap.

This is our vision of where we expect to be in each sphere of influence in the next 3-5 years:

  1. Our exco members possess impeccable character, extraordinary talent, an excellent work ethic and proven track records.
  2. Our exco members share the desire for values-based, people-centric, servant leadership; putting the patient’s care first.
  3. Our exco members experience reasonable autonomy in SAHNOS, planning and executing their own work, without stifling bureaucracy. We encourage innovation and experimentation. If something doesn’t work, we learn from it and move on.
  4. We attract exco members who are heavily involved in and passionate about head and neck care and their members’ well being.
  5. Our exco members work in head and neck multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) who meet weekly to discuss patients’ optimal care plan.
  6. We attract leaders from different head and neck disciplines by engaging with colleagues in our immediate work environment.
  7. Exco members engage with each other often via telephone and online methods, either through apps or social media groups.
  1. Our projects ultimately serve our head and neck cancer patients and we help them by helping our members. Our projects therefore directly and indirectly serve our patients.
  2. We create projects that encourage multidisciplinary team working amongst our members.
  3. We benefit our members by providing them with opportunities to learn and grow individually and as team members, and meet with like-minded individuals. 
  4. For those not in established MDTs and meeting weekly, we allow opportunities to help them develop teams and/or present their patient cases at established MDTs.
  5. We create projects that delight our members, exceed their expectations and deliver dramatic transformation.
  6. Our projects also help to develop the field of Head and Neck cancer worldwide, with a focus on the African experience.
  7. Our projects will be unique to our South African and African environment and not reliant on the American, European or Asian experience.
  8. We want our projects to help our members feel that they could not get better value anywhere else.
  9. At exco meetings, we decide which projects are worth pursuing based on the needs and desires of our members and patients, and those that help us fulfil our mission.
  1. The market we serve is a diverse group of head and neck practitioners and includes head and neck surgeons, general surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons, maxillofacial prosthodontists and oral hygienists, plastic reconstructive surgeons, anesthesiologists, pathologists, radiologists, radiation and medical oncologists, nuclear physicians, endocrinologists, intensivists and other physicians including pulmonologists and cardiologists, palliative care physicians, ophthalmologists, neurosurgeons, dieticians, speech and swallow therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists.
  2. We reach our market through engaging with them at MDTs and daily interaction at work.
  3. We approach the different societies to inform their members of the value we can add.
  4. The cost to acquire more members is primarily in time and effort to engage with colleagues, and the patience to build trust over time.
  5. We believe in providing exceptional service and an exceptional experience to our members.
  6. Because of this excellent service, we reach also members through word of mouth referrals.
  7. We market ourselves by creating and engaging on social media platforms with groups, blogs and podcasts.
  1. We have created unity (alignment of purpose) and collaboration among the different disciplines of head and neck care.
  2. We have members of SAHNOS from every discipline and every member working in teams who meet weekly.
  3. We enable head and neck MDTs to achieve exceptional results, teach and train further generations and advance our discipline worldwide.
  4. We enable our head and neck patients to find excellent head and neck teams as close as possible to them.
  5. We develop an interest in our younger members to want to be leaders in their respective fields and want to be involved on the exco.
  6. We engage with the funders and other stakeholders to make it economically viable for our members to solely do head and neck care if they so desire.
  7. We are at the forefront of our colleague’s and the health industry’s minds when it comes to all things head and neck cancer. 
  8. We have achieved extraordinary results without compromising our values and culture.
Our Mission

We are a community of head and neck health care professionals who exist to help people with head and neck cancer, through building unity among different head and neck disciplines, with the goal of bringing value based, patient-centred care to prolong and restore quality of life.

Our Philosophy

We maintain a fun, wildly productive culture that fully supports our mission and values. Based on this ethos of patients first, we enable Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs) to collaboratively provide the best care possible in some of the most complex head and neck oncology cases.

SAHNOS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Dr Johann Kluge
Dr Johann D. Kluge
President
dr-Mark1
Dr Mark Torres-Holmes
Secretary and Treasurer
Prof Chris Joseph
Prof Chris Joseph
Past President
Jos Hille
Prof Jos Hille
Past Secretary and Treasurer
Johan Fagan
Prof Johan Fagan
EXCO Member
Dr Jan Pretorius
EXCO Member
Privacy Preferences
When you visit our website, it may store information through your browser from specific services, usually in form of cookies. Here you can change your privacy preferences. Please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our website and the services we offer.