Guy's Head and Neck Cancer Centre launches to transform cancer care

Guy's Cancer has unveiled ambitious plans to transform care for patients affected by a complex and lesser known form of cancer.

With the support of charitable donations, Guy's Head and Neck Cancer Centre has launched to improve how head and neck cancer is diagnosed and treated.

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer globally, with more than 650,000 people diagnosed annually. Around 1,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with head and neck cancer every month.

There are more than 15 areas within the head and neck where cancer can develop, including the mouth and lips, voice box, throat and nose. Despite advances in treatment, many of those diagnosed with head and neck cancer still lose their lives.

The mental and physical side effects for those who have been treated can be life changing. Eating, speaking and breathing problems are common, meaning people need specialised rehabilitation, support and care.

Guy's Head and Neck Cancer Centre will bring together a diverse range of programmes to offer patients the best possible care. The centre aims to speed up the diagnosis for head and neck cancer patients and improve the ways they are treated for their condition by minimising side-effects, maximising treatment effectiveness and reducing rates of recurrence.

It will also provide state-of-the-art patient education and support services to improve the quality of life for those living with and beyond head and neck cancer.

The centre will care for people like Naema Abubakar, who was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer, an extremely rare form of head and neck cancer, in August 2018 at the age of 23.

Nasopharyngeal cancer affects the part of the throat connecting the back of the nose to the back of the mouth (the pharynx). About three times as many men as women are affected by nasopharyngeal cancer, and the average age at diagnosis is about 50.

While studying at London South Bank University, Naema had a persistent blocked nose, which led to heavy nose bleeds. After a year her symptoms worsened, and she ended up in hospital after she began to cough up blood.

Naema, from Elephant and Castle in London, was quickly referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist at Guy’s Hospital, who ordered a series of tests at the Cancer Centre at Guy's. It was after that she received her diagnosis of nasopharyngeal cancer.

Naema, 26, said: "It was such a huge shock. I just didn’t think that cancer would affect someone like me. Even though I’d been experiencing problems for over a year, the diagnosis felt like it came out of nowhere."

Naema underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In order to administer the treatment in a targeted way, she had to have 10 teeth removed at Guy's Hospital.

She said: "Everyone who helped care for me did so sensitively and professionally, but also in the quickest possible time. Nobody made me feel like my condition was incurable and I felt like I was in the safest possible hands."

She added: "After the radiotherapy I was unable to open my mouth so I couldn’t talk and had to be fed through a tube. I lost a lot of weight, going down to 45kg, and parts of my hair began to fall out."

As part of the care she received from Guy's Cancer, Naema had support from a dietitian, underwent specialised therapy and joined a support group for other young people who had cancer.

She said: "I can’t put into words how much all of the extra support helped me. Meeting other young people who were going through similar things helped to normalise my situation and made me feel less alone. I am still friends with a lot of those I met through the support group."

Throughout her treatment Naema continued to study and after graduating from university with a first class degree, she is now in remission.

She currently works as a student advisor and was recently accepted to study a masters in Environment Data Science and Machine Learning. Naema said: "None of this would have been possible without the care me and my whole family received. I will be eternally gratefully for everything they’ve given me."

The Guy's Head and Neck Cancer Centre has been made possible thanks to the generous support of Charles Wilson and Dr Rowena Olegario of Wilson + Olegario Philanthropy. Charles is the former CEO of Booker, which is part of Tesco Plc, and was treated for neck cancer by a team from Guy's Cancer three years ago.

Wilson + Olegario Philanthropy have been generously funding head and neck cancer research for many years and have committed over £6 million to support the development of the Guy's Head and Neck Cancer Centre.

Charles Wilson said: "It's a privilege to be supporting the launch of the new Guy's Head and Neck Cancer Centre. The team at Guy's are amazing. The treatments they perform and the research they do is ground-breaking. The new centre will help transform the detection and treatment of head and neck cancers as well as improve the quality of life for patients – something which is urgently needed.

"In a year when the NHS did such a good job of looking after the nation, and where Guy's Cancer continued treating patients, it is a privilege to support the hospital at this time. I look forward to seeing the impact for both the local community, people across the UK and even around the world."

Guy's and St Thomas' Charity is fundraising a further £5 million to fund this transformative programme for head and neck cancer patients and further enhance the care they receive.

Dr Teresa Guerrero Urbano, consultant clinical oncologist, said: "Diagnosis with any cancer can be life-changing. But people with head and neck cancer face treatment that can impact some of the most fundamental aspects of their life – breathing, speaking and eating.

"It's a cancer which few people are aware of, and that receives less funding for research, but it's also a cancer where investment could make a significant difference. That's why we're urgently seeking philanthropic support. And every stride we make in head and neck cancers could have ripple effects for other cancers too."

Find out more about the head and neck cancer service.