We’re walking the West Highland Way (96 miles/154km) over a week in August and raising money and awareness for the Young Tongues peer-to-peer support group.

In 2021, Hannah was diagnosed with tongue cancer, despite having no risk factors. Hannah had surgery to remove the cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) and her tongue was reconstructed using tissue and blood vessels from her arm. Many people who have this type of cancer, including Hannah, also have lymph nodes removed from the neck to check whether the cancer has spread.

Shortly into Hannah’s recovery, Hannah was using social media to raise awareness and find others like herself. Hannah was invited to join the Young Tongues peer-to-peer support group by a member who was also recovering from tongue cancer. The group is available for people aged between 18 and 64 who have received a tongue cancer diagnosis, wherever they are in their journey. Young Tongues is an online community who give essential support to others, through tips, meal ideas, experience exchange, and much more. The group has over 350 members across the globe, providing support through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, WhatsApp, Zoom calls and face-to-face meet-ups. Young Tongues is in the process of becoming a registered charity and is working in collaboration with the Oracle Cancer Trust, the UK’s leading charity dedicated to Head and Neck Cancers. Keen to pay it forward, Hannah volunteers for the Young Tongues group as a social media content creator and will be a trustee for the Young Tongues charity. The group relies on donations and as a charity, it will support the patient-focused activities of the Young Tongues, and fund awareness campaigns and research that will provide more understanding of tongue cancer in young patients, how best to treat them and where the greatest unmet needs are to improve quality of life for patients and survivors.

Please support Hannah, Steve and Sam with raising funds for this growing community that has become a vital helping hand for so many.