“I knew something wasn’t right”
Victoria Workman is a wife, mother, grandmother and retired Children’s Work Manager from Worthing.
Before throat cancer became part of her life, Victoria’s world was built around the things many people recognise: family, work, children, community, routine, responsibility and the busy rhythm of everyday life.
She was not expecting cancer.
She was not looking for a cause.
She simply knew that something was wrong.
In 2012, when Victoria was around 50, she began experiencing symptoms that would not settle. She was choking. She had what felt like a dreadful cold that would not go away. Her mouth and throat were painful. Like many people, she did not immediately think of throat cancer.
Most people do not.
But the symptoms continued.
It was Victoria’s mother who pushed her to get checked. That persistence mattered. Victoria was eventually referred for scans and a biopsy, and the results confirmed that she had cancer at the base of her tongue.
It was an HPV-related throat cancer.
The diagnosis brought fear, confusion and stigma
Being told you have cancer is frightening enough.
For Victoria, learning that her cancer was linked to HPV brought another layer of shock and confusion. At the time, she did not properly understand HPV or its connection with cancers affecting the throat, mouth, head and neck.
That lack of understanding can make an already frightening diagnosis feel even more isolating.
HPV-related cancers can carry a stigma they do not deserve. People can feel embarrassed, judged or confused, even though HPV is extremely common and most people will come into contact with it at some point in their lives. In most cases, the body clears the virus naturally. But in some people, years later, HPV can be linked to cancer.
Victoria has spoken openly about this because silence helps nobody.
The more people understand HPV-related throat cancer, the less room there is for shame, misinformation and stigma.
Treatment changed more than her health
Victoria’s treatment was tough.
She underwent radiotherapy every day for six weeks. For people treated for throat cancer, treatment is not just something that happens in a hospital room. It can affect eating, swallowing, taste, saliva, weight, energy, confidence, speech, mood and everyday life.
Recovery is not always a neat finish line.
For many patients, life after throat cancer means learning how to live in a body that works differently. The impact can continue long after treatment has finished, and it can affect the ordinary things many people take for granted: sharing meals, speaking comfortably, going out, feeling like yourself, or simply getting through the day without pain, dryness or exhaustion.
Victoria understands that reality because she has lived it.
She knows what it is like to be frightened. She knows what it is like to face treatment. She knows what it is like to deal with the side effects. And she knows how much it matters to hear from someone else who has already been through it.
During her own treatment, Victoria found comfort and practical support from another patient who shared their experience with her. That human connection helped her through some of the hardest moments.
It also stayed with her.
From patient to Patient Ambassador
Victoria did not allow cancer to take ownership of her story.
She used her experience to help others.
Over the years, she has raised awareness of throat cancer, challenged stigma around HPV-related cancers, supported the work of the Throat Cancer Foundation and taken on fundraising challenges to help other patients and families.
She later became a Patient Ambassador for the Throat Cancer Foundation.
That role matters because people affected by throat cancer do not only need medical facts. They need honesty. They need reassurance. They need to know that someone else understands the fear, the questions, the treatment, the recovery and the life that comes afterwards.
Victoria brings that human voice.
She is not speaking from theory. She is speaking from experience.
Helping patients across the UK
Victoria’s story is also part of the Throat Cancer Foundation’s national patient information work.
Her profile and photograph feature in the Foundation’s HPV and Throat Cancer guides, which are sent to NHS ENT departments across the UK for patients and families affected by HPV-related throat cancer.
These guides are designed to help people understand their diagnosis, ask better questions, make sense of HPV-related throat cancer and feel less alone at one of the most frightening points in their lives.
That means Victoria’s story is already reaching people at the point of diagnosis.
For someone newly told they have HPV-related throat cancer, seeing the face of a real person who has been through it can make a difference. It turns information into something more human. It shows that there is life beyond the shock of diagnosis.
Why Victoria’s story matters
Victoria’s story matters because she is not a statistic.
She is a wife.
She is a mother.
She is a grandmother.
She spent her working life caring for and supporting children.
She had a full and ordinary life before cancer arrived, and that is exactly the point.
Throat cancer does not happen to “other people”. It happens to real people, with families, jobs, relationships, plans, routines and responsibilities. It interrupts lives. It changes bodies. It affects confidence, identity and the way people move through the world.
But Victoria’s story is also about what can happen afterwards.
It is about speaking up.
It is about challenging stigma.
It is about helping others feel less alone.
It is about using a painful experience to make sure more people understand the signs, symptoms and risks of throat cancer.
Victoria’s message
Victoria’s message is simple: do not ignore persistent symptoms.
A lump, bump, sore area, pain, voice change, swallowing problem, mouth change, tongue change or throat symptom that does not go away should be checked.
Most symptoms will not be cancer.
But persistent symptoms deserve attention.
Too many throat cancers are still found late. Too many people explain symptoms away. Too many people wait, hope, dismiss or delay.
Victoria’s story is a reminder that awareness matters, early diagnosis matters, and listening to your body matters.
If something does not feel right, get it checked.
And if you are affected by throat cancer, you are not alone.
