13/06/2026
Jamie Rae, the founder of the Throat Cancer Foundation, believed lives could be saved.
After his own diagnosis of HPV-related throat cancer, Jamie saw an injustice that was outdated, unfair and dangerous. Girls were being offered protection through the HPV vaccination programme, while boys were not.
That mattered.
It meant boys were being left exposed to HPV-related cancers in later life, including some throat cancers. Jamie understood that this was not just a policy issue. It was about future patients. Future families. Future lives that could be protected.
He refused to let it go.
Jamie campaigned, challenged, pushed and kept speaking when others might have stepped back. His work, alongside others, helped move the UK towards gender-neutral HPV vaccination. Boys are now offered the HPV vaccine, helping protect future generations from cancers that may not appear for decades.
That is Jamie’s first legacy.
A legacy of prevention.
A legacy of fairness.
A legacy that will save lives long after his own life has ended.
Now, following Jamie’s passing a year ago, and as I take on the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Throat Cancer Foundation, my responsibility is to carry that legacy forward with the seriousness it deserves.
Not to replace Jamie’s vision.
Not to rewrite it.
But to build on it.
The next part of the mission
Jamie’s work showed what can happen when prevention is treated with urgency. That same urgency must now drive the next chapter of the Throat Cancer Foundation.
Our work is built around a simple belief:
Prevention where we can. Earlier diagnosis where we can’t.
Where throat cancers can be prevented, we must do everything we can to prevent them. That means continuing to raise awareness of HPV-related cancers, the importance of vaccination, smoking, alcohol, occupational risks and the wider factors that can increase someone’s risk.
But prevention will never stop every case.
Some people will still develop throat cancers. Some will have no obvious risk factors. Some will not recognise the symptoms. Some will explain them away. Some will wait too long before asking for help.
That is where earlier diagnosis becomes so important.
Why throat cancer needs the same urgency
We have seen what public awareness can do.
When a woman finds a lump in her breast, there is now a strong public understanding that it should be checked quickly. That did not happen by accident. It happened because campaigners, charities, clinicians, patients and families kept repeating the message until it became part of public behaviour.
That urgency is right. It saves lives.
Throat cancers need that same seriousness.
A persistent change in the voice. Difficulty swallowing. A lump in the neck. A sore throat that does not go away. Pain, choking, breathlessness, or a feeling that food is getting stuck.
Too often, these symptoms are explained away.
It is just a cold.
It is reflux.
It is stress.
It is age.
It is smoking.
It is shouting too much.
It is probably nothing.
And sometimes it is nothing.
But sometimes it is not.
The problem is not that every throat symptom should be treated as cancer. That would be unrealistic and unhelpful. The problem is that persistent throat symptoms are still too easy to ignore, too easy to normalise and too easy to dismiss.
That has to change.
Awareness is not about fear. The Throat Cancer Foundation does not want people living in fear of every sore throat, cough or voice change.
That is not the message.
The message is awareness. The message is confidence. The message is knowing when something has gone on for too long, when it feels unusual, or when it is affecting speaking, swallowing, eating or breathing.
People need to know that these symptoms deserve attention.
They need to feel able to contact their GP without thinking they are wasting anyone’s time. Families need to feel able to gently encourage someone they love to get checked. Healthcare professionals need clear information, strong public messaging and the confidence to act when symptoms persist.
Earlier diagnosis can mean more treatment options.
It can mean less aggressive treatment.
It can mean better outcomes.
For some people, it can mean the difference between life and death.
Carrying the legacy forward
Jamie Rae helped change the future for boys who now have access to the HPV vaccine.
That achievement should never be underestimated. It was not simply a change in policy. It was protection for children who may never know his name, but who may live healthier lives because of what he helped make possible.
Now we must build on that.
Jamie’s second legacy is not separate from his first. It grows from it.
The first was about preventing cancers that should never have been allowed to happen.
The next is about making sure that when throat cancers do happen, they are recognised earlier, understood better and treated with the urgency they deserve.
That is the work ahead of us.
To raise awareness.
To challenge complacency.
To support patients and families.
To work with the medical community.
To make throat cancer symptoms better understood.
To keep saving lives.
Jamie showed that change is possible.
Our responsibility now is to make sure that change continues.
Because awareness saves lives.
Prevention saves lives.
Earlier diagnosis saves lives.
And that is the legacy we intend to carry forward.
As we carry Jamie’s legacy forward, we do so with renewed purpose, clearer direction and the determination to build the Throat Cancer Foundation into the organisation this mission deserves.
Gordon Dow
Chief Executive Officer
Throat Cancer Foundation
