Newsletter June 2026
Julie Child, Executive Director
It’s been a whirlwind five months since I started at Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK. Thanks to your support and donations, the charity was successful in its Emergency Appeal and managed to secure the funds required to go forward.
I’ve been very fortunate to meet a number of supporters, both face-to-face and online, and one thing I’ve gleaned from all those I’ve spoken with is how much there is to be done for those affected by head and neck cancer. Here at Oracle we want to rise to that challenge and have a number of initiatives - for which we are currently seeking funding - that have been identified by those we have spoken to as activities that will make a substantial difference.
In the meantime, our work goes on. We continue to fund our research projects and build collaborative relationships with a hope of impactful outcomes for patients and their families. I’m also excited to announce the launch of our bi-monthly webinar series, the first of which will be held in July (see below), and which will explore the topics that matter. We would like to thank two of our valued volunteers - Trustee, Mehmet Sen and Oracle Voices Co-chair, Hazel Turner - for giving up their time to support this valuable initiative, the first of which will be aimed at those newly diagnosed.
I welcome suggestions as to future webinar topics; please do contact us if there’s an issue you think we should address.
Before I sign off, I wanted to thank you all for making me feel so welcome in my new role here at Oracle. As I said when I wrote to you back in January, please do get in touch with any feedback or suggestions; my door is always open.
Thank you for all you do for Oracle and for the people we are here to serve.
Supporting Head and Neck Cancer Research
One of Oracle’s aims is to support research and innovation and push forward opportunities to improve, refine and accelerate ways in which better, more effective, and kinder treatments can be offered to head and neck cancer patients.
Recent work supported by Oracle includes:
- A study at the University of Derby looking at the Pathogenesis of HPV within Oropharyngeal Cancer
- Work at The Institute of Cancer Research investigating the effect of treatments used in the clinic such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments on T-cells
- Two studies looking at ways of developing new treatments for Adenoid cycstic carcinoma (ACC) patients at Brunel University, London and the University of Glasgow
- A study the Queen Mary University, London working towards early and timely detection of head and neck cancers in adults with Bangladeshi heritage living in east London where cultural barriers provide particular challenges with these diseases
- A project co-funded with Get ahead at Leicester Cancer Research Centre that aims to improve understanding and treatment of oral cancer in Leicester’s South Asian community where the use of paan (betel quid) and smokeless tobacco is common and strongly linked to higher cancer risk.
Diagnosis Connect Launches in 2026
Following the announcement of a new service by the Prime Minister in July last year, hundreds of thousands of patients with long-term conditions will now be automatically referred to specialist charities at the point of diagnosis.
Diagnosis Connect, which will launch this year, will ensure patients are referred directly to trusted charities and support organisations as soon as they are diagnosed - providing personalised advice, information and guidance to help them manage their condition and feel more in control. This support is designed to complement, not replace, their usual NHS care. It recognises the vital role that civil society plays in helping repair the health of the nation.
With 1 in 4 people in the UK living with two or more long-term conditions, this early, tailored support is vital. Patients living with multiple health issues often face the greatest challenges and the highest risk of complications. By helping people understand and manage their conditions from day one, the new service will help:
- Reduce flare-ups
- Improve quality of life
- Avoid unnecessary hospital visits
The service aims to support a quarter of a million people in its first two years with the initial focus on areas such as diabetes, mental health and lung conditions. In its first stage, Diagnosis Connect will focus on patients diagnosed in primary care, such as at their GP surgery. Patients will then be automatically connected with specialist charities that offer helplines, information, local support groups and services tailored to their condition.
Promising New Therapy For HNC Patients
A study at the University of Birmingham, part-funded by Oracle in conjunction with Get ahead, has just made its final report. The study titled, “Investigating boron neutron capture therapy as a treatment for highly radioresistent head and neck cancer”, was undertaken by Prof. Jason L Parsons and Dr Maria Rita Fabbrizi.
Incidence of HNC cancers are rising in the UK, so it is of paramount importance to develop more effective therapies. Unfortunately, current HNC treatments (such as surgery, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy (drugs)) cause a plethora of adverse side-effects and significantly reduce patient quality of life.
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) represents an alternative and more effective tool for cancer treament compared to conventional X-ray radiotherapy, particularly due to its higher precision in radiation delivery to the tumour, thus causing fewer side-effects. BNCT is currently approved in Japan for recurrent or resistant HNC, where it has shown significant promise in enhancing patient outcomes - although challenges remain in optimising the treatment.
This study at the University of Birmingham showed that boron-containing compounds are safe when administered to biological cultures, and that they are internalised inside the HNC cells where they are needed to drive their killing. These findings will help accelerate research into BNCT for further development. Further knowledge of the impact of BNCT on HNC cells and tumours will provide a better biological understanding of this specific mode of radiotherapy delivery for the future benefit of HNC patients.
Significant Development in Treatment for Head & Neck Cancer
Kevin Harrington, Professor of Biological Cancer Therapies at The Institute of Cancer Research
You may have seen some news recently about the amivantamab trial that’s currently running. Professor Harrington of The Institute of Cancer Research, Biological Cancer Therapies has kindly agreed to provide us with some more detail on the study:
At the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, researchers presented new data that showed that a drug called amivantamab represents a major breakthrough for patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell cancers that originated in the oral cavity (mouth), oropharynx (throat), larynx (voice box) and hypo pharynx (upper part of swallowing tube). Amivantamab is an antibody therapy that binds to 2 proteins (called EGFR and MET) that are found in a significant number of head and neck tumours.
The so-called Cohort 1 of OrigAMI-4 (NCT06385080) evaluated the use of subcutaneous injections (into the fat under the skin) or amivantamab, initially weekly for 3 weeks and then every 3 weeks thereafter, in patients whose disease showed very specific disease parameters. All patients had human papillomavirus-unrelated (HPV-negative) tumours and were required to be relatively fit and to have received prior therapy with both platinum chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Sadly, patients with HPV-related disease or those who had had prior exposure to more than 2 different lines of chemotherapy or prior exposure to cetuximab for recurrent disease were not eligible to take part in the trial.
Ultimately, data were available for 102 patients who received at least one dose of subcutaneous amivantamab. There were confirmed responses in 47% (48/102) of patients, with 4 complete responses, 44 partial responses, and 39 patients with stable disease. Among patients who had a confirmed disease response, the average duration of responses was more than 7 months. Responses were rapid, with an average time to initial response of about 6 weeks. The average time to progression of disease (measured as the time taken for at least 50% of patients to have progressive disease) was about 7 months and the average overall survival (measured as the time taken for at least 50% of patients to have died) was about 13 months. Importantly, many patients had more durable and ongoing responses.
The treatment was associated with significant side effects, notably fatigue, rash, growth changes and inflammatory lesions at the finger and toenails, sore mouth and ankle swelling. Allergic-type reactions were seen in 13% of patients (all low-grade) and, in total, one in sixteen patients had to stop treatment due to therapy-related side effects.
Recruitment to this trial is now completed and the study has closed. However, amivantamab continues to be developed in a trial of patients receiving treatment at the time of initial diagnosis of relapsed and/or metastatic disease.
Again, that study is not available for patients with HPV-related tumours or for those who have received any treatment (chemotherapy, immunotherapy, EGFR-targeted therapy) for their relapsed disease.
New Best Practice Guidance on Radiotherapy Late Effects Being Produced
Macmillan Consultant Head and Neck Radiographers - Late Effects , Emma Hallam (from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust) and Sabina Khan (from University College Hospitals NHS Trust) are producing best practice guidance to address late side effects following radiotherapy for head and neck cancer patients; these effects may develop months, or even years, after treatment.
The guidance aims solely to support healthcare professionals in the UK who may encounter patients with a history of head and neck irradiation and who are now experiencing late effects. This will ensure that patients receive timely and appropriate support. Once the guidance is finalised and published, it is the intention to also produce an accessible version of the guidance for patients and their families, which Oracle will make available on its website.
Wealth Matters
Our Executive Director, Julie, was invited by one of our key corporate supporters – Wealth Matters – to give a presentation about the charity at a recent staff training event. Julie was fortunate to be joined by Oracle Voice, Dr Amir Lass, who generously shared his own story with the team in order to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of head and neck cancer and the importance of self-screening.
Wealth Matters’ relationship with Oracle is that of a valued and long-standing partnership, which was started by its MD and Founder, Julian Gilbert, back in 2017. As Julian explains:
“After surviving throat cancer in 2017, one of the support medics suggested I support Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK, and that’s where the journey began. We organised a charity bike ride that passed all the places involved in my treatment, starting at Spire Harpenden and finishing at UCLH in London, raising close to £60,000. We also held a sponsored walk around the Ashridge Estate, and I’m incredibly proud that all our staff have played a part in raising money for Oracle. For me, it’s about much more than fundraising — it’s about raising awareness of neck and throat cancer.
If something doesn’t feel right, please get it checked. And if you have children, I would strongly encourage you to seriously consider the HPV vaccine.
Supporting Oracle is something that has become very important to the Wealth Matters team over the years, and we are proud to continue fundraising for such a meaningful cause. Over the last nine years, Wealth Matters has raised more than £100,000 in support of the charity, and we remain committed to continuing our fundraising efforts and helping to raise awareness of the important work Oracle does for patients and families.”
We are incredibly grateful to Julian and his staff team – past and present – for their support over the last nine years. Their contribution to the charity has created considerable impact for many patients and their families.
If you would like to find out more about building a partnership between your business and Oracle, please contact us.
Image: Julian Gilbert, MD and Founder of Wealth Matters, Julie Child, Oracle and Dr Amir Lass, Oracle Voices member
BAHNO Conference
A record-breaking number of healthcare professionals - including the Oracle team - attended The British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists (BAHNO) Annual Scientific Meeting this year in London on 15 May. Once again, the event featured the Oracle-supported Blair Hesketh Lecture given this year by Professor Jean Bourhis on the “Progress in head and neck oncology - 30 years of experience with GORTEC.”
In addition to the keynote speech, three other initiatives that Oracle is supporting were highlighted at the Meeting:
- the findings of the UNEQUAL-HNC project that we are currently funding at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with NWCR;
- poster presentations showcasing the work of the Late Effects project being undertaken by Consultant Radiographers, Sabina Khan and Emma Hallam, and
- an update on the Head and Neck Coalition-funded NaHaNCa study.
Not only was the event hugely informative for our newly-appointed Executive Director, Julie, it also provided the opportunity for her to meet some of the many clinicians who give their guidance and knowledge to the charity and, in turn, the patients and their families that we support.
We’d like to thank Rollo Hesketh for his donation, which enabled Oracle’s support of the Blair Hesketh Lecture. We also thank Chris Nutting, President of BAHNO - along with the wider BAHNO committee - for making us so welcome.
Join our new Webinar series
Oracle HNC UK is hosting FREE webinars to provide information and support for individuals experiencing head and neck cancers, and their families
First webinar:
“I’ve just been diagnosed. What now?”
on Wednesday 8 July 2026 from 6pm to 7.30pm
Mehmet Sen, an Oracle Trustee, will talk about the challenges for newly diagnosed patients, and this will be followed by an audience Q&A with your questions taken by Mehmet and Hazel Turner, one of our Oracle Voices.
You can register HERE to join the webinar or, if you have any ideas for topics that you’d like to see in future sessions, please email us here.
Our Brilliant Oracle Supporters!
Oracle’s supporters have continued to inspire us, taking on incredible challenges, organising community events, and raising vital funds to assist those affected by head and neck cancer.
Community Fundraisers
We’d like to give a special shout-out to some of our incredible individual supporters:
Anson Mackay took on the gruelling 268-mile Spine Race following their own head and neck cancer diagnosis. The Spine Race follows the route of the Pennine Way but is completed in a week - mainly running - rather than the 3 weeks-plus that walkers would take: an ultramarathon endurance test!
Anson chose to undertake the Spine Race winter challenge, which threw up additional challenges to contend with: snow, thick fog and driving horizontal rain over some of the hills with wind gusts of 60mph, which twice saw them blown off their feet! With the need for each runner to carry a lot of extra kit and supplies for the winter challenge, it is extremely tough.
A seasoned ultra runner, and having planned and trained for this race for over two years, Anson was gutted to be unable to complete this one due to health issues - but he did complete 70 miles in pretty appalling winter conditions. We feel that is a total win!
Anson says, “Nothing can prepare you for the disappointment of failing to do something you’d been planning for the past two years. But there are many positives to take away from this race as well. The Spine Race is special. I got to meet so many people on the route, each with their own stories, each facing their own challenges and demons. Sharing those experiences is one thing I won’t ever forget.”
Image: Anson Mackay, centre, at the start of the Spine Race at Edale, Peak District
Photo: Courtesy of Andrew Hendry Photograher
Alex Robertson and Sam Rahmani two of our incredible runners took on the London Marathon, proudly flying the flag for Oracle and pounding the capital’s tarmac whilst fundraising over £3,600 for us. Excellent work and well done, both!
Image: Alex Robertson and Sam Rahmani having completed the London Marathon
Marlborough College C3 House, via George Lane, organised a charity day for pupils, house staff and families to raise funds for Oracle to support Wendy, one of the C3 domestic team who recently lost her husband, John, to cancer.
Image: Marlborough College C3 Quintet
The C3 house community held a BBQ lunch with entertainment, including magic tricks and the C3 pupils Quintet, followed by their annual six-a-side football tournament in the afternoon where rough and tough matches were held between year groups, staff and parents. The day raised an amazing £4,500 for Oracle. Our huge thanks go to all who took part on the day and made it such a success.
Image: Marlborough College C3 house annual six-a-side football tournament
Richard Fletcher ran the Hackney Half - showcasing Oracle at a half marathon in the Hackney area of London.
Richard says, “Two years into remission from head and neck cancer, crossing that finish line meant far more than competing 13.1 miles. It was a reminder of how far I’ve come and what can be achieved with determination, support, and resilience. The hot weather and busy course made it a challenging day, but I was delighted to finish in around 2 hours 20 minutes. Most importantly, it was an opportunity to help raise awareness of a small charity that does an incredible job supporting cancer patients and their families.”
Image: Richard Fletcher (left) at the Hackney Half
The South East London Community Head & Neck Cancer Team (CHANT) and colleagues took on a 10 mile charity walk in March from Balham and on through the Royal Parks, exceeding their £2,500 fundraising target for Oracle HNC. CHANT provides specialist rehabilitation and care, closer to home, for patients who have completed their cancer treatments. As part of the Guys & St Thomas’ Head & Neck Team, CHANT is dedicated to enhancing the quality of care provided to their patients, who often have life-altering conditions as a result of their cancer. Brilliant stuff, CHANT and colleagues; we are very grateful to you all.
CHANT and colleagues enjoying their early Spring fundraising walk for Oracle HNC
This is just a snapshot of some of the incredible fundraisers who’ve gone the extra mile for Oracle this year. A huge thank you to everyone who has donated, fundraised, shared our campaigns, completed a challenge or cheered on our amazing supporters along the way; your support makes such a difference in helping us improve outcomes for head and neck cancer patients.
March On! Campaign
Led by one of our Trustees, Mehmet Sen, our March On! Campaign encouraged healthcare professionals to walk 10,000 steps every day throughout March to raise awareness of the thousands of people diagnosed with head and neck cancer in the UK each year. Supporters came together to make people more aware of the need to check themselves regularly, fundraise, and get active for Oracle, helping to ensure the campaign was a success. Our thanks also go to Stuart Winter, Rachel Brooker and Emma de Winton for taking on the challenge.
We’ll make details for the March On! Campaign 2027 available later this year - watch this space!
World Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Day - 27 July 2026
On World Head & Neck Cancer Awareness Day you can help us by donating the cost of a coffee.
It’s so simple! And yet those with head and neck cancers can experience enormous difficulty swallowing during, and for a long time following, their treatments. Drinking fluids is vital for HNC patients to keep their mouth moist - a function that is greatly impacted during radiotherapy - and yet every sip can be a real struggle.
We will be asking social media followers and supporters to show their support by donating the cost of a coffee on 27 July to help those who can no longer take this simple pleasure for granted.
Oracle wants everyone to understand the signs and symptoms of head and neck cancers and how to check themselves regularly to allow early detection and treatment. You can help yourself and others by following this simple monthly check.
Watch out for more information on how you can support Oracle for World Head & Neck Cancer Awareness Day on our socials.
Take on a Challenge For Oracle
Looking for your next challenge? Whether you’re a seasoned runner, keen walker, demon cyclist, or looking to take on something completely new, there are plenty of ways to support Oracle through our upcoming Challenge Events.
Through our partnership with Run For Charity supporters can sign-up for a wide range of events across the UK such as: marathons, half-marathons, inflatable runs, cycling events, obstacle courses, and family-friendly challenges. From iconic city races to local fun runs, there’s something for everyone no matter what your experience level. By joining Team Oracle you’ll receive fundraising support every step of the way whilst helping raise awareness and vital funds for people affected by head and neck cancer.
Carry on Golfing…
Following the success of last year’s annual Golf Day, we’re hoping to run the event again this year. It’s a great opportunity to bring together people for another fantastic day of networking, fundraising and support for Oracle - not to mention a bit of golf swing practise! We’re aiming to host the event in the first half of September and we’ll post more details once they’re finalised. Meantime, if you’d like to register interest in taking part or have any other queries, please contact us.
Looking for some support?
Oracle has an active patient Facebook group. If you are looking for advice, help or would just like to talk with people who are going through similiar experiences or treatments as you, and really understand, the Facebook group is a supportive and friendly forum open to everyone.
You can sign up here.
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Help Beat Head and Neck Cancer
Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1142037), and in Scotland (SC052790).
Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales (7125497). Registered address: 167-169, Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London W1W 5PF.