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Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK

@oraclehncuk

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Improving Head and Neck cancer patient outcomes.

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This October, we’re joining the conversation on mental health. This year’s World Mental Health Day theme was “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change”.

We spoke to a patient who discovered journaling when she had no one to talk to after her head and neck cancer diagnosis. Here are tips from her story for anyone who’d like to try it. A few words is enough.

If things feel heavy, please talk to your GP or care team. Samaritans are free any time on 116 123, and the Macmillan Support Line is on 0808 808 00 00 (8am to 8pm, 7 days a week).

#MentalHealth #WorldMentalHealthDay #HeadAndNeckCancer #Journaling #OracleHNC by @oraclehncuk

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4 days ago

Saturday is World Mental Health Day

This year's theme is "Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change."

Head and neck cancer can feel isolating, whether you're newly diagnosed, in treatment, living with late effects, or caring for someone you love. Feeling low, anxious or overwhelmed is common and it can help to speak to people with first-hand experience of what you're going through.

Our peer-to-peer Facebook group is a private space where patients, families and carers share what they've lived through and support each other. The link is in our bio.

If you need to talk to someone:

Macmillan Support Line: 0808 808 00 00 (free, 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week)
Samaritans: 116 123 (free, any time)
In an emergency, call 999. You can also speak to your GP or clinical team.

We're a peer support group, not a crisis service, but you're always welcome here. by @oraclehncuk

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9 days ago

Today we’re standing with Salivary Gland Cancer UK, raising awareness of salivary gland cancer, rare cancers that can affect the salivary glands in and around the mouth, jaw and neck.

Knowing the signs matters. Symptoms can include:

🔸 A painless lump or swelling in the jaw, cheek, mouth or neck
🔸 Numbness in part of the face
🔸 Drooping on one side of the face
🔸 Pain around a lump or swelling
🔸 Problems swallowing
🔸 Difficulty opening the mouth fully
🔸 Swelling on one side of the face

These symptoms can have many causes and don't necessarily mean cancer. But if you notice a change that's unusual for you or doesn't go away, speak to your GP or dentist and get it checked.

#SalivaryGlandCancerDay #SGCDay #SalivaryGlandCancer #HeadAndNeckCancer #CancerAwareness by @oraclehncuk

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12 days ago

March On! 2027 is coming!

Following its success, our March walking campaign, led by Trustee Dr Mehmet Sen, returns in March 2027, helping to raise awareness and encouraging regular self-checks. Details coming soon. Register your interest: https://bit.ly/MarchOn2027 (link also in our bio) by @oraclehncuk

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18 days ago

Today we are at The Milner Hotel, York, for The Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK Oncology Meeting 2026!

Clinicians and specialists from across the UK have come together for a full day of expert sessions, all focused on improving care and outcomes for people affected by head and neck cancer.

From the latest guidelines on late effects, to developments in cancer treatment and palliative care, today's programme reflects just how much dedication and expertise goes into supporting patients across the country.

A huge thank you to everyone attending, to Dr Robin Prestwich and the Steering Committee for organising the day, and to BAHNO and our industry partners for making this meeting possible, completely free for every attendee.

We'll share highlights from the day soon!

#HeadAndNeckCancer #OracleHNC by @oraclehncuk

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22 days ago

Sign up to join our next webinar: Immunotherapy Treatments for Head and Neck Cancer

🗓️ Tuesday 6 October 2026
🕕 18:00 - 19:00

In our next webinar, we'll be welcoming Professor Kevin Harrington to speak. He's a Professor at The Institute of Cancer Research, and also works as a doctor at the Royal Marsden and St George's Hospital.

His talk will explore the newest treatments in immunotherapy for head and neck cancer, treatments that work with your body's own immune system to help fight cancer.

Whether you're a patient, carer, or just want to learn more, this is a great chance to hear directly from a leading expert in the field.

👉 Register now: https://oracleheadneckcanceruk.beaconforms.com/form/8ed08b99 (link also in our Insta bio) by @oraclehncuk

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25 days ago

Head and Neck Cancer patients deserve the right care at the right time regardless of where you live.

We know from speaking to you that far too many people are facing unacceptable delays, from waiting weeks for a GP or dentist to spot the signs (if you can even get an appointment), to sitting on an NHS waiting list while a tumour grows, to being sent from department to department after treatment ends, trying to find someone who understands what "late effects" really means. It's not the fault of the amazing oncologists and other professionals who are working tirelessly to support head and neck cancer patients, it's the system that needs to change. H&NC care needs to be joined up, and properly funded.

We've heard from patients who've waited months for surgery, and others who, years after finishing treatment, are still fighting to access something as basic as free dentistry or a prosthetic they desperately need to eat, speak, or simply feel like themselves again.

We know these aren't small inconveniences. Every delay, before treatment and long after it, has a real, lasting impact on a person's chances and their quality of life.

As Professor René Leemans, Chair of the Make Sense Campaign, puts it: "Right Care at the Right Time means looking across the whole head and neck cancer pathway. From awareness and earlier diagnosis to referral and specialist care, we all have a role to play in reducing avoidable delays and helping people with head and neck cancer access the care they need, when they need it."

We believe that care shouldn't depend on your postcode, not at diagnosis, not during treatment, and not in the months and years that follow, when so many patients are still quietly living with the late-effects nobody warned them about.

This Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week, 21–26 September 2026, we're proud to stand alongside voices from across Europe, united by one shared ambition:

Helping more people get the right care, at the right time, wherever they live, and for as long as they need it. by @oraclehncuk

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a month ago

We always love seeing our brilliant fundraisers making the news, so we we thrilled to see Kai making the front cover of his local paper, and rightly so! Kai completed an incredible 82km run across Essex in memory of his beloved Nan Diane, smashing his fundraising target in the process.

It's moments like this that remind us just how much our fundraisers' efforts mean, not just to us, but to their whole community. Seeing Kai's story reach so many people through local press is exactly the kind of awareness that helps us fight head and neck cancer together.

A huge thank you to Kai for his incredible grit and determination, to Millie for her brilliant support behind the scenes, and to Zoe and the whole family, including the "Oracle Angels" who supported on the day too. What a team! 💛

We're so proud to have you all as part of the Oracle family. by @oraclehncuk

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a month ago

Good luck to @bigfletchruns and all the people running the @great_run #GreatNorthRun for charity today. Your support is everything! by @oraclehncuk

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a month ago

🎗️ Today is World Radiotherapy Awareness Day

This year's theme is "One Voice for Radiotherapy" — and today, we're adding ours.

Radiotherapy plays a vital role in treating head and neck cancers, often forming a central part of treatment alongside surgery and chemotherapy. For many of our community, it's also a treatment that comes with real, lasting effects, on speech, swallowing, taste, and daily life, long after treatment ends.

Today, we want to recognise:

💛 Everyone who has been through radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, and everything that came with it
💛 The incredible radiographers, radiotherapy teams and specialists who deliver this care every day
💛 Everyone still living with the lasting effects of treatment, months or years on

Radiotherapy saves lives, but it's not without cost, and today is about recognising both sides of that story.

If you've been through radiotherapy, or supported someone who has, we see you today. 🎗️

#WorldRadiotherapyAwarenessDay #OneVoiceForRadiotherapy #HeadAndNeckCancer #OracleHNC by @oraclehncuk

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a month ago

Lifelong @leedsunited supporter Mark Hodgson walked 310km in August to raise vital funds for @oraclehncuk, three years after being treated for stage 4 cancer.

Follow the link in our bio to support Mark’s outstanding fundraising efforts 👏 by @oraclehncuk

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a month ago

📅 A reminder - our webinar is coming up!

Understanding Head & Neck Cancer Late Effects
🗓️ Thursday 10 September 2026
🕕 18:00 – 19:00

Join Macmillan Consultant Radiographers Sabina Khan and Emma Hallam, both specialists in head and neck post-treatment late effects, alongside patient Karen Liesching-Schroder, who will share her own experience of diagnosis, treatment and life afterwards.

If you haven't registered yet, there's still time.

👉 www.bit.ly/LateEffectsWebinar (link also in our bio)

#HeadAndNeckCancer #LateEffects #Webinar #OracleHNC by @oraclehncuk

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2 months ago