LIFE After Lary has officially become a registered charity dedicated solely to supporting people after a laryngectomy, marking a significant step forward for those whose lives have been permanently changed by laryngeal cancer.
Founded by people with lived experience, Life After Lary was created to address a long-standing and largely overlooked gap in post-treatment care. Each year, around 700 people in the UK lose their natural voice permanently following a total laryngectomy. While the surgery itself may last only a few hours, the emotional, psychological and social recovery can take years.
People are often discharged into a world that no longer works as it once did. Their voice is gone. Breathing, eating, sleeping and confidence change overnight. Yet follow-up support is frequently inconsistent, minimal or absent, leaving many to cope with the devastation alone.
Life After Lary exists to step into that void. The charity provides peer support, practical guidance, advocacy and a safe community for people navigating life after laryngectomy. Its work is rooted in authenticity and lived reality, offering connection and understanding at a time when many feel isolated and invisible.
Jono Organ, founder and CEO of Life After Lary, said the charity’s registration represents far more than a formal milestone.
He said:
“Becoming a charity marks a huge step forward for Life After Lary. It provides us with the foundations and legitimacy to reach more people, strengthen our services, and ensure that every person living after a laryngectomy has somewhere to turn. Too many people feel isolated after surgery, unsure where to find practical advice or a community that understands what life looks like now. We aim to change that.
“We are committed to building a supportive, inclusive community where people can share experiences, find guidance and feel less alone. We also aim to be a strong voice on the issues that matter to those living with life after laryngectomy, from increased awareness and understanding to improved services and care pathways.
“For us, this is about more than organisational status. It is about standing alongside people whose lives have changed forever and making sure they have the support, dignity and visibility they deserve.”
Life After Lary was founded in 2023 as a grassroots support network based in Surrey. Since then, it has grown rapidly as people affected by laryngectomy have found, often for the first time, a place where they do not have to pretend they are coping. The charity is shaped by lived experience, by lost voices, visible scars and the courage it takes to rebuild a life from the inside out.
For decades, the needs of people living after laryngectomy have remained largely hidden from public view. Isolation, stigma, fear, embarrassment, identity loss, relationship strain and the daily effort of learning how to live again are common experiences, yet there has been no dedicated national charity to support them.
Life After Lary is now breaking that silence. By creating connection, advocacy and visibility, the charity aims to ensure that no one living after a laryngectomy is left to navigate recovery alone.
Life After Lary is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under charity number 1215969.