LIFE After Lary is calling for a national step change in public understanding of laryngeal cancer and the realities of life after a laryngectomy, as diagnoses continue to rise across the UK.
The charity says thousands of people are living with life-altering changes to breathing, speaking and swallowing following a laryngectomy, a surgical procedure that permanently removes the voice box and reroutes breathing through a stoma in the neck. Despite this, awareness of the condition and its impact remains low.
Life After Lary is urging the public, healthcare systems and policymakers to better recognise the dignity, resilience and everyday needs of the laryngectomy community, which it says is often overlooked and misunderstood.
Laryngeal and throat cancer are frequently associated with outdated assumptions, and the charity says people who have undergone a laryngectomy face daily barriers that most of society has never been taught to recognise. These barriers, it argues, are not inevitable, but the result of poor awareness, limited training and a lack of accessible information.
A spokesperson for Life After Lary said the narrative surrounding laryngectomy needs to change.
They said:
“People living after a laryngectomy are not fragile, tragic or defined by loss. They are parents, workers, creatives, advocates and contributors to every part of society. What they need is not sympathy, but understanding, visibility and environments designed with them in mind.”
The charity has identified three urgent priorities that it believes must be addressed.
The first is public awareness. Life After Lary says most people have never heard of a laryngectomy until they or a loved one face it, which fuels stigma, fear and misinformation.
The second is accessibility and safety. The charity warns that everyday situations, from airport security to emergency healthcare settings, can become dangerous when staff are unaware that laryngectomy patients breathe only through their necks.
The third is dignity and representation. While voices after laryngectomy may sound different, the charity says they are no less human and deserve to be recognised as part of the full spectrum of communication.
Life After Lary is planning to launch a series of national awareness campaigns, patient-led resources and collaborative initiatives with healthcare providers, with the aim of ensuring that people living after laryngectomy are not left to educate others alone.
They said:
“Understanding saves lives. Understanding restores dignity. Understanding allows people to participate fully without having to justify their existence. Throat cancer and laryngectomy are not rare stories, they are simply unheard ones. It is time to change that. Together, we must do better.”
The charity is inviting journalists, healthcare professionals, policymakers and members of the public to support its call for greater visibility, equity and informed compassion for the laryngectomy community.
