Mark Hodgson walks 310km in August for Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK
A Leeds private investigator who was treated for stage 4 cancer of the throat and tongue is walking 10 kilometres every day throughout August for Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK. He has already passed his original £10,000 target, with 11 days of the challenge still to run.
Mark Hodgson is a director of Tremark Associates, a Leeds firm whose investigators and process servers trace people, assets and evidence for solicitors, insolvency practitioners and insurers. He will have covered 310 kilometres by the end of the month and is now working towards a £15,000 stretch target.
Hodgson was diagnosed in the summer of 2023 with T4 N1 M0 cancer affecting his throat, tongue and a nearby lymph node, and went through an intensive course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. He was treated by Dr Mehmet Sen, who has since retired from the NHS and now serves as a trustee of Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK.
"I know first hand how much specialist care, support and awareness matter, and how frightening and isolating this diagnosis can be. Dr Sen's expertise and support played a huge part in getting me through treatment, and he is now giving his time to Oracle. Walking 10 kilometres a day for a month felt like the least I could do."
Julie Child, Executive Director of Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK, said:
"Mark's achievement is truly extraordinary, walking 310 kilometres in a month, three years on from stage 4 cancer treatment. What makes it even more special is his connection to Dr Sen, his former oncologist and now one of our trustees. We're so grateful to Mark, and everyone who walked with him, for raising vital funds and awareness of a disease that remains far too under-recognised.
Colleagues from Tremark, along with friends and family, have joined Hodgson on the walks through the month, with routes running through Leeds, Wetherby, Harewood, Wensleydale, Hebden Bridge and London. Fifteen businesses have sponsored the campaign.
Anyone who would like to join one of the remaining walks can find the routes at tremark.co.uk/step-up-for-oracle, and donations can be made at justgiving.com/page/tremark-step-up-for-oracle.
We can't thank Mark enough for taking on this incredible challenge and we wish him all the best for his remaining walks.
September Webinar: Understanding Head & Neck cancer late effects in survivorship.
From cure to consequence:
Understanding Head & Neck cancer late effects in survivorship.
Thursday 10 September 2026
18:00 – 19:00 pm
Our Late Effects webinar will feature Sabina Khan and Emma Hallam, Macmillan Consultant Radiographers. Both specialise in head and neck post-treatment late effects. They’ll be joined by patient Karen Liesching-Schroder, who will share the patient perspective drawing on her experience of diagnosis, treatment and late effects.
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Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1142037), and in Scotland (SC052790).
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