Newsletter October 2026
Julie Child, Executive Director
Last week, we held our annual Oncology Meeting in York, attended by 150 clinicians from across the UK. Being able to thank those who support our work was so valuable, and to hear about the progress being made behind the scenes to improve patient outcomes.
Our research projects at Oxford, UCL, Leicester, Newcastle and Sheffield continue, and one of these may hold the key to future breakthroughs.
Moving into Autumn, our webinar series continues, with Immunotherapy and Diet as upcoming topics, and we're finalising plans to launch a peer-to-peer support network in the New Year. We're seeking volunteers willing to share their experiences and support others; full training provided. Please get in touch if you are interested in volunteering.
We're also progressing work on HPV awareness, late effects support, dentistry access, and continued pressure on government through the Cancer 52 coalition. There's so much to do.
Many of you know our Oracle Voices group, our sounding and advisory board. Co-Chairs Hazel Turner and Anson Mackay recently stepped down after years of outstanding service. We can't thank them enough, and we're delighted they'll continue supporting us in other ways. Oracle Voices now moves forward with Simon Last-Sutton as Chair; welcome, Simon!
Finally, to all our wonderful fundraisers and supporters: thank you. Without you, Oracle simply wouldn't exist.
Please get in touch if there's anything you'd like to discuss, I really do appreciate all suggestions and comments.
Julie Child,
Executive Director
Head and Neck Cancer in the News
AI and saliva proteins could help improve early detection of Head and Neck Cancer
Early-stage research from Bristol's NIHR Biomedical Research Centre suggests AI could one day detect Head and Neck Cancer earlier via a saliva sample. Lead researcher Dr Paul Yousefi called it "a promising route towards more sensitive, less invasive approaches to cancer detection," though larger studies are still needed.
New report exposes a postcode lottery in Head and Neck Cancer care across England
A landmark study revealed stark inequalities in how Head and Neck Cancer is diagnosed and treated depending on where you live. Oracle is proud to be one of 16 charities in the Head & Neck Cancer Coalition UK supporting this research, and we're calling for a full national audit.
Only 3 out of 121 NHS Trusts in England are meeting cancer targets
Almost every NHS trust is failing to meet the 62-day treatment target. For every four-week delay, survival chances fall by around 10%. We know Head and Neck Cancer patients face exactly these pressures.
Policy and Campaigning News
Fair Funding for Head and Neck Cancer
We are supporting a petition led by Susan Myers, asking for fair funding for Head and Neck Cancer. The petition has reached 626 signatures, help us push it over 1,000!
Oracle News and Updates
A huge thank you to our outgoing Oracle Voices Co-Chairs and a warm welcome to our new chair
Hazel Turner
Thank you to Hazel Turner and Anson McKay, who've stepped down as Co-Chairs of Oracle Voices. Their dedication over the past 4 years has shaped so much of what Oracle Voices is today, and we couldn't have done it without them. Anson continues to be an involved and active member of the group, with Hazel’s energy never fading with her incredible management of the Oracle Facebook support group.
Anson McKay
We're delighted to welcome Simon Last-Sutton as our new Chair. Simon was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2018, treated through surgery, an experience that reshaped his priorities toward "making as many happy memories as possible with family and friends." After a long career in technology and commercial leadership, Simon is now semi-retired, enjoying family time, fitness, rugby, cricket and Land Rovers.
Simon Last-Sutton
York Oncology Meeting: Another Great Year
York Oncology Conference 2026
Earlier this month, clinicians gathered at The Milner Hotel, York, for our Oncology Meeting 2026, now in its third year under Oracle. The day covered everything from radiotherapy de-escalation to systemic therapy and palliative care, with an update from Julie Child on upcoming projects, including our HPV campaign and new website. Thank you to BAHNO, our industry partners, and Dr Robin Prestwich's Steering Committee, who created such a diverse and packed programme of presentations.
Patient Stories
How Journaling Helped Me Through Cancer: Cath's Story
Illustration by Cath Black
I lay in a hospital bed for twelve days, tubes everywhere including a tracheostomy. Three months earlier I'd been diagnosed with stage 4 Head and Neck Cancer. Now I had a false jaw, the determination to survive but not a soul to talk to. No visitors, no partner and no close friend. Then I found a gentle space where I could empty my mind, express my feelings and start to make sense of everything I had been through. I found journaling.
There was such a mixture of emotions; hope, fear, frustration, guilt, gratitude and uncertainty. Putting those feelings onto paper helped me to acknowledge them rather than carry them silently. There were so many questions about what comes next, how my body will feel and look like and what the future might hold. Soon I was writing about difficult days, (Oh the pain and discomfort can be so unbearable, can’t it), about celebrating small victories and recording moments that made me smile.
Journaling helped me to focus on what I needed for my recovery, including good diet and nutrition, managing stress, being around positive company, exercising regularly, being around nature, self love and breathwork / meditation.
My journal has become a record of my journey. Looking back reminds me how far I have travelled, especially on days where progress feels slow.
Dates For Your Diary
Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK Golf Day 2027
25 June 2027
Join us at Mapledurham Golf Club, set in the rolling Berkshire countryside near Reading for a day of golf competition and relaxation. All skill levels welcome. Team entry £500 (instalments available).
March On! Campaign 2027
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
Join our Webinar Series
Oracle HNC UK is hosting FREE webinars to provide information and support for individuals experiencing head and neck cancers, and their families.
Catch up on September's webinar, Understanding Head & Neck Cancer Late Effects, featuring Sabina Khan, Emma Hallam and patient voice Karen Liesching-Schroder.
Watch here.
Cath's tips to start journaling:
You don’t have to write beautifully every day. A few words, a memory, a question, a gratitude, or simply “today was hard, but I got through it” is enough.
Over time, your journal can become a gentle reminder that although you cannot always control what lies ahead, you can give yourself space to face each day as it comes.
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
Next Webinar:
Don't miss our next webinar, Diet and How to Get Comfortable Eating Socially, Tuesday 3rd November at 6pm, with Florence Cook, a Head and Neck Cancer Specialist Dietitian.
Register now.
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.
Leigh Shelton
Leigh Shelton
Massive thanks to Leigh, who cycled from Newcastle to Edinburgh in memory of her husband Robin, raising £3,821 and highlighting how the HPV vaccine protects boys and men too, not just girls.
Beth Robinson Scales
Beth Robinson-Scales
Thank you to Beth, who completed the Great North Run in blazing heat, raising over £3,800 in honour of her husband Steve. Beth's message: “Listen to your body, if something doesn't feel right, get it checked.”
Hannah and Ross Gillanders
Hannah and Ross Gillanders
Thank you to Hannah and her brother Ross, running the Great Scottish Run 10K in memory of their dad, Ally, who passed away in June 2026. As Hannah shared: "His journey has shown us how important awareness of head and neck cancer is... it has also highlighted the urgent need for more research."
Kai Staines
Kai Staines
Huge congratulations to 22-year-old Kai Staines, who ran 82km across Essex, one kilometre for every year of his Nan Diane's life. Kai smashed his £1,000 target, raising over £3,000, and made his local paper's front cover!
Richard ‘Fletch’ Fletcher
Richard Fletcher
Thank you to Fletch, who regularly races across the country in his Oracle vest, proudly raising awareness with every mile.
Peter Papanastasiou
Thank you to Peter Papanastasiou, who raised £5,000 at his Golf Day, generosity that makes a genuine difference to our work.
Mark Hodgson
Mehmet Sen and Mark Hodgson
Thank you to Mark Hodgson, who walked 10km every day throughout August, covering 310km. Three years on from stage 4 cancer treatment, Mark smashed his £10,000 target and passed his £15,000 stretch goal, with a special connection to Trustee Dr Mehmet Sen, his former Oncologist.
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.
Martyn Dipper
In September 2021, I was sitting in a car outside a hospital having just been told I had T4 throat cancer. The tumour was too large to operate on. Within weeks I was offered a place on TORPEdO – the first clinical trial in the UK to study Proton Beam Therapy for throat cancer –…
Eating well after head and neck cancer treatment: join our November webinar
A specialist dietitian and a patient talk about food, swallowing and eating out after head and neck cancer treatment.
Thank you to our brilliant Great North Run runners!
This September, two incredible supporters took to the streets of Newcastle for the Great North Run, the world’s largest half marathon, and we couldn’t be prouder of them both. Beth Robinson Scales completed the 13.1-mile route in searing heat, raising over £3,800 for Oracle. Beth ran in honour of her husband Steve, following his recurrence, and…
Bringing the UK’s head and neck oncology community together
The Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK Oncology Meeting 2026 takes place tomorrow, Friday 25th September, at The Milner Hotel, York. Now in its third year under the Oracle umbrella, this free educational meeting brings together head and neck oncology specialists from around 40 centres across the UK, spanning radiography, nursing, clinical and medical oncology,…
October Webinar: Immunotherapy & Other Developing Treatments
Professor Kevin Harrington explores the latest immunotherapy treatments for head and neck cancer in our upcoming webinar on 6 October.
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…
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.
Oracle launches new webinar series to support Head & Neck Cancer Patients
Oracle Head & Neck Cancer has launched its new webinar series for anyone newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer. First in the series ‘I’ve just been diagnosed. What now?” features retired Consultant Oncologist Professor Dr Mehmet Sen and patient speaker Hazel Turner. They share expert advice and personal experience to help patients and…
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…
Using the power of football to help prevent cancer
This week, Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK has launched an important awareness campaign in partnership with Bromley FC, using the reach of football to shine a light on head and neck cancer prevention and the life-saving importance of the HPV vaccine. Throughout the week, Bromley FC is sharing trusted health information with its supporters,…
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.