How to check for head and neck cancer at home

Early detection significantly improves treatment outcomes and can save lives.

PAY ATTENTION TO CHANGES - Familiarise yourself with your body and pay attention to any changes, such as lumps, sores, or persistent symptoms like a sore throat or difficulty swallowing, you can identify potential signs of cancer at an early stage.

MONTHLY ROUTINE - Make self-checks a routine part of your healthcare regimen to stay proactive about your health and well-being.

DENTIST CHECK UPS - Regular check ups with a dentist is also helpful as they should perform a cancer symptom check as part of your oral health review.

Prevention Is Key - Check The Causes

Play Video

Have A Symptom? Find out more details

The 2 Minute Do-It-Yourself Self-Check That Could Save Your Life

All you need is a mirror, a good light source and clean fingers! Follow the step by step guide.
At each step you are looking for anything unusual especially any lumps, red or white patches, changes in colour/texture or lingering ulcers. If you are worried about anything contact your dentist or doctor.

1Face

FACE Look at the whole face – are there any swellings you haven’t noticed before? Inspect your skin – has anything changed recently? Have moles become larger or started to itch or bleed? Turn your head from side to side – this stretches the skin over the muscles making lumps easier to see.

2Neck

NECK Run your fingers under your jaw and feel along the large muscle either side of neck using the balls of your fingers. Are there any unusual swellings? Does everything feel the same on both sides?

3Lips

LIPS Use your fingers and thumb to feel the inside of your mouth. Pull your upper lip upwards and bottom lip downwards. Look inside for any sores or changes in colour

4Gums

GUMS Use your thumb and forefinger. Examine your gums feeling around the gum for anything unusual.

5Cheeks

CHEEKS Use your fingers and thumb to feel the inside of your mouth. Pull your upper lip upwards and bottom lip downwards. Look inside for any sores or changes in colour. Open your mouth and pull your cheeks away, one side at a time, with your finger. Look for any red or white patches. Does everything feel the same on both sides? Use your finger in the cheek to check for ulcers, lumps or tenderness. Repeat on the other side. Your tongue can be helpful to locate sore areas, ulcers or rough patches

6Tongue

TONGUE Gently stick out your tongue and look at one side first and then the other. Look for any swelling, ulcers or change in colour. Examine the underside of your tongue by lifting the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

7Mouth

FLOOR AND ROOF OF MOUTH Tilt back your head and open your mouth wide to inspect the roof of your mouth. Look to see if there are changes in colour or ulcers. Check for changes in texture with your finger. Lift your tongue up and look underneath at the floor of your mouth. Look for any colour changes that are unusual. Gently press your finger along the floor of your mouth and under your tongue. Feel for any lumps, swellings or ulcers.

Key Facts

Throat cancers cases rising at 47% per annum

17,000 new cases of head and neck cancer each year

72% of middle throat cancer is caused by HPV

Only 33% of Head and Neck cancers diagnosed early, resulting in poor survival and outcomes.

Numbers are increasing at 30% per decade.

4th most common cancer in MEN

Every day 34 people are diagnosed with Head and Neck cancers in the UK.

Prevention Is Key - The Top 4 Risk Factors

Prevention is key in the fight against Head and Neck cancer. Here are some proactive steps you can take to minimize your risk:

Play Video

Getting the HPV Vaccine to block the human papilloma virus (HPV) is the best way to prevent these cancers from developing. There is a free HPV vaccination programme in the UK available to 12 to 13 year-olds and a catch up programme for those up to 25 years old.

1 TOBACCO USE

Tobacco use isn’t just smoking cigarettes, but also use of chewing smokeless tobacco (such as paan or gutkha), cigars, pipes, and snuff.
Those that consume tobacco are at a higher risk of getting head and neck cancer and should be aware of key symptoms.

2 ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Frequent and heavy alcohol consumption raises the risk of developing Head and Neck cancers.

3 THE HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS

HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer and is also a leading cause of throat and mouth cancers.

4 POOR ORAL CARE

Poor care of the mouth and teeth increases the risk of gum disease, which can enter the bloodstream and contribute to chronic inflammation associated with head and neck cancers.

Full list of causes of head and neck cancer