Throat Cancer Foundation

21/08/2026

HPV prevention should not end when school does.

Let us be clear: the school vaccination programme is the foundation. We must protect it, increase uptake and reach every eligible child.

But school should be the starting point—not the end of our public-health thinking.

Many adults were never offered HPV vaccination. Others missed it, remain eligible or belong to communities where uptake is unequal.

A life-course approach does not mean that everyone is currently eligible for free NHS vaccination. It means continuing to ask:

Who missed out?
Who remains eligible?
Where is uptake unequal?
What should policy do next?

Some types of HPV can cause several cancers, including some throat cancers. That is why the Throat Cancer Foundation supports the WFPHA Call to Action on adult HPV vaccination.

We want strong childhood uptake, clearer information, action on inequality and evidence-led policy for those who missed out.

HPV vaccination is cancer prevention.

HPV: Prevention for Life

Prevention where we can. Earlier diagnosis where we can’t.

19/08/2026

What about the adults who were never offered the HPV vaccine?

The UK’s school HPV vaccination programme began for girls in 2008. Boys were not included until 2019.

That means many adults had already left school before they could benefit from the protection now offered routinely to young people.

This matters because HPV does not become irrelevant when someone reaches adulthood. Some types of HPV can cause cancer years—and sometimes decades—after infection, including some cancers of the throat.

We also need to be honest about the position today.

Not every adult can obtain HPV vaccination free through the NHS. Eligibility depends on factors including age, date of birth, individual circumstances and the programme operating where someone lives.

Some people who missed vaccination at school can still receive it through NHS catch-up arrangements. Vaccination is also available to certain people considered at greater risk from HPV.

If you think you missed it, check your vaccination history and look at the current NHS guidance. Your GP surgery or sexual health clinic can advise what applies to you.

But individual action is only part of the answer.

The Throat Cancer Foundation believes we need:

• strong uptake among children offered vaccination now
• better identification of people who missed it
• clear information about current adult options
• action on inequalities in access and uptake
• serious consideration of HPV prevention throughout life

That is why TCF supports the World Federation of Public Health Associations’ Call to Action on adult HPV vaccination.

HPV: Prevention for Life

Prevention where we can. Earlier diagnosis where we can’t.

17/08/2026

HPV vaccination is cancer prevention.

That should be the starting point for every conversation about HPV.

The vaccine helps protect against HPV types that can cause several cancers, including some cancers of the throat. Yet it is still widely regarded as little more than a school-age injection.

Many adults missed the vaccination or were never offered it. Many parents still do not fully understand what it protects their children against. And many people first learn about the connection between HPV and throat cancer only after a diagnosis.

That is why the Throat Cancer Foundation is launching HPV: Prevention for Life.

Through this campaign, we will:

• explain the connection between HPV and throat cancer
• present vaccination clearly as cancer prevention
• support better awareness beyond the school years
• challenge the blame and stigma surrounding HPV
• provide trusted information for patients, families and healthcare professionals
• support the case for a fairer, life-course approach to HPV prevention

The Throat Cancer Foundation is proud to support the WFPHA - World Federation of Public Health Associations Call to Action on adult HPV vaccination.

This is not about weakening the school vaccination programme. It is about building upon it, reaching those who missed out and recognising that HPV-related cancer prevention matters throughout life.

Prevention where we can. Earlier diagnosis where we can’t.

14/08/2026

We’re very proud to stand alongside more than 60 organisations worldwide who together are supporting the World Federation of Public Health Associations’ Call to Action on adult and life-course HPV vaccination.

It is an approach that closely reflects our own values at the Throat Cancer Foundation.

HPV vaccination is cancer prevention. And while protecting young people remains fundamental, many adults missed vaccination altogether or were never eligible when they were younger.

For us, the principle remains simple:

Prevention where we can. Earlier diagnosis where we can’t.

09/08/2026

A huge thank you to Jessica Evens, who took fundraising to new heights with a charity skydive and a bingo night and raised an incredible £1,841.88 for the Throat Cancer Foundation.

Jessica, congratulations—and thank you from all of us at the Throat Cancer Foundation.

Jessica’s fundraising page:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/jesssskydive1

27/07/2026

19/07/2026

www.throatcancerfoundation.org/when-hpv-becomes-clickbait-patients-pay-the-price

There is a pattern in parts of the media whenever HPV and throat cancer are discussed. A real illness. A real person. A real diagnosis. And then, wrapped around it, a headline designed to provoke embarrassment, blame or shock. That is not good health journalism. It is distortion. At the…

19/07/2026

***LISTEN TO THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE***

14/07/2026

13/07/2026

“Throat cancer symptoms do not always shout. Sometimes they barely whisper.”

Many people expect cancer to announce itself dramatically.

They imagine severe pain, feeling seriously unwell or a symptom so frightening that it becomes impossible to ignore.

Throat cancer does not always begin that way.

Sometimes the first sign is a slightly hoarse voice that lingers. A small lump in the neck that does not hurt. A sore throat that refuses to clear. Mild discomfort when swallowing. Or simply the feeling that something is caught in the throat.

Because the symptom is not particularly painful, it can be easy to dismiss.

“It doesn’t hurt” is not the same as “it doesn’t matter”

Pain is the body’s way of warning us about many problems, but it is not a reliable measure of how serious something may be.

A lump can be painless. A voice change can become familiar. Swallowing discomfort can be blamed on reflux, a recent infection or getting older.

For oropharyngeal cancer — which affects areas including the tonsils and the base of the tongue — a painless swelling or lump in the neck may be the most noticeable symptom.

That does not mean every neck lump, sore throat or hoarse voice is cancer. Most will have a much less serious explanation.

But when a symptom persists, changes or gets worse, the sensible response is to have it checked.

The symptoms people learn to live with

People are remarkably good at adapting.

We clear our throat more often. We choose softer foods. We speak less because our voice feels strained. We tell ourselves the lump has probably always been there.

Gradually, something that should have prompted action becomes part of everyday life.

Possible signs of throat and laryngeal cancers include:

a persistent sore throat
a hoarse voice or unexplained change in the voice
a lump or swelling in the neck
pain or difficulty when swallowing
the feeling of something being stuck in the throat
persistent ear pain
unexplained weight loss
breathlessness or noisy breathing

These symptoms can be caused by many different conditions, but NHS and cancer organisations advise having persistent or unexplained changes assessed.

You are not wasting anyone’s time

Another common reason people delay contacting their GP is the fear of making a fuss.

They worry that their symptom is too minor, that the doctor will dismiss it or that they will be seen as wasting NHS time.

Getting a persistent symptom checked is not making a fuss.

You are not expected to know whether it is cancer. That is precisely why medical assessment exists. Your responsibility is simply to notice when something is not returning to normal and to ask for it to be investigated.

A GP may examine your mouth and neck and decide whether further tests or an assessment by an ear, nose and throat specialist are needed.

Pay attention to time, not just pain

A useful question is not simply:

“How much does it hurt?”

It is:

“How long has this been happening?”

At the Throat Cancer Foundation, we encourage people to act when a possible warning sign has persisted for three weeks, particularly when there is no clear explanation or it is getting worse.

You do not need to wait until the symptom becomes painful, interferes significantly with eating or speaking, or makes you feel seriously unwell.

The purpose of getting checked is not to diagnose yourself or assume the worst. It is to find out what is causing the change.

In many cases, the cause will not be cancer. But reassurance is far more valuable when it comes from a proper examination rather than from repeatedly telling yourself that the symptom is probably nothing.

Notice it. Time it. Check it.

If you have had a persistent voice change, unexplained neck lump, sore throat, swallowing problem or feeling of something in your throat for three weeks, contact your GP.

And when someone you care about mentions a symptom that has been lingering, encourage them to do the same.

Throat cancer symptoms do not always shout.

Sometimes they barely whisper.

That does not mean we should ignore them.

Prevention where we can. Earlier diagnosis where we can’t.

https://www.throatcancerfoundation.org/throat-cancer-symptoms-do-not-always-shout-sometimes-they-barely-whisper/