Our support has helped University of Kent researchers and clinicians in Kent to develop a new NHS treatment pathway for patients with throat cancer. While treating this disease it is sometimes necessary to remove the larynx and replace this with a prosthesis (or artificial larynx). Before the work Kent Cancer Trust helped to fund was completed, patients found that the prosthesis would need to be changed as often as every two or three weeks because of fungal growth. Now they can expect their voice prosthesis to stay fungus free and fully functional for much longer. This ensures that speech is maintained leading to a significant improvement in quality of life for the patient.    

“Now it can be months before I have the prosthesis replaced, when it used to be weeks. The new pathway was a game-changer for me.” Kent patient, 2016.

Our continued research support means that patients may soon experience a prosthesis constructed from a newly developed fungal resistant material, improving its performance still further. In addition a sophisticated electronic home-diagnosis technology designed to monitor fungal overgrowth via a smart phone App. Because of the success achieved, we have agreed to fund similar work for patients that have undergone a tracheostomy.    

We need your help to extend our early success to improve patient care for all throat cancer patients. 

Please help us to continue to make a difference to cancer care in Kent