A throat cancer diagnosis can feel frightening, confusing and isolating.

Even when you have good medical care around you, there can still be questions that are difficult to ask, feelings that are hard to explain, and moments when it helps to speak to someone who understands.

The Throat Cancer Foundation’s Buddy System is designed to help people affected by throat cancer connect with someone who has lived experience of the disease, treatment, recovery or life after treatment.

What Is A Buddy?

A buddy is someone who has personal experience of throat, head or neck cancer, either as a patient, survivor, carer, family member or supporter.

They are not there to give medical advice or tell you what treatment you should have. Their role is to listen, share lived experience where appropriate, and help you feel less alone.

Sometimes it can make a real difference to speak to someone who understands what it feels like to face treatment, recovery, changes to eating, speaking, swallowing, breathing, confidence, family life or emotional wellbeing.

Who Can Use The Buddy System?

The Buddy System may be helpful if you are:

• newly diagnosed
• waiting for treatment
• recovering from surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy
• living with long-term side effects
• supporting a loved one with throat cancer
• feeling isolated or unsure where to turn
• looking for reassurance from someone with lived experience

You do not have to have everything worked out before getting in touch. If you feel a buddy conversation may help, you are welcome to contact us.

What A Buddy Can Help With

A buddy may be able to help by:

• listening without judgement
• sharing lived experience
• helping you feel less alone
• talking about the emotional impact of throat cancer
• offering practical encouragement
• helping you think about questions to ask your clinical team
• signposting you to other Throat Cancer Foundation support resources

Every person’s experience of throat cancer is different, so a buddy’s experience may not be the same as yours. But sometimes simply speaking to someone who understands the broad journey can be a powerful source of support.

What A Buddy Cannot Do

A buddy cannot:

• give medical advice
• diagnose symptoms
• interpret scans, biopsy results or test results
• recommend treatment
• provide counselling or therapy
• replace your GP, consultant, specialist nurse, speech and language therapist, dietitian or clinical team
• provide emergency or crisis support

If you have urgent medical concerns, please contact your GP, NHS 111, your hospital team, or emergency services if needed.

How It Works

If you would like to speak to a buddy, contact the Throat Cancer Foundation and tell us a little about your situation.

Where possible, we will try to connect you with someone whose experience is relevant to what you are going through.

This may include experience of diagnosis, treatment, recovery, laryngectomy, swallowing difficulties, HPV-related cancer, caring for someone with throat cancer, or living with long-term side effects.

We will always try to handle requests sensitively and respectfully. The availability of buddies may vary, and we may not always be able to make an immediate match.

Interested In Becoming A Buddy?

If you have lived experience of throat cancer and would like to support others, we would be pleased to hear from you.

Being a buddy is not about having all the answers. It is about listening, understanding, sharing experience safely, and helping someone feel less alone.

The Throat Cancer Foundation will speak with anyone interested in becoming a buddy to make sure the role is suitable and that appropriate boundaries are understood.

Get In Touch

If you would like to request a buddy, or if you are interested in becoming a buddy, please contact us.

You can tell us:

• whether you are a patient, survivor, carer, family member or supporter
• where you are in the throat cancer journey
• what kind of support you are looking for
• whether there is a particular experience you would find helpful to connect with

We will come back to you as soon as we can.

Important

The Buddy System is for peer support and lived-experience connection only. It is not a medical advice service.

If you have new, persistent, worsening or worrying symptoms, please speak to your GP, dentist, pharmacist or clinical team.

If you need urgent help, use NHS 111, contact your local urgent-care service, call 999 or go to A&E.