There are many ways to get involved with Get A-Head. We hold many events during the year and will always be here to help you with any advice and tips on organising your own fundraising event.
With your support, we want to make a huge impact to people with head and neck disease in England and Wales.
We organise several fundraising events throughout the year; from charity clay pigeon shoots to our Christmas Ball. We have places at the TCS London Marathon 2024. Check out our upcoming events page for more information.
Why not organise a smaller event such as a coffee morning or sale, perhaps get sponsored for undertaking things like fun runs, fancy dress, walks and any other challenges? A list of our four main support groups is in the tabs below.
Please continue to send us photos of your events. We want to show everybody what our supporters are doing. Please remember every little helps, and if you get sponsored or organise an event, be it large or small, it raises our profile.
Get A-Head aim to fight all forms of Head and Neck disease, with Research, Education and the purchase of Equipment that is considered above NHS provision, at the forefront. Get A-Head is completely reliant upon voluntary income, namely the generosity of its supporters and charitable foundations, in order to fulfil its objectives.
Over the last few years, Get A-Head has funded a range of projects and equipment that have made a real difference to those fighting head and neck disease, including:
In addition to our main fund we also have three specialist funds that provide funding for Research projects. Please click on the tabs above to find out more.
Accelerated Cancer Drug Fund
We’re working with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity and the University of Birmingham to give patients access to new drugs quicker than anywhere else in the country. Drug trials through pharmaceutical companies can take up to ten years before they reach patients. By working with a team at the Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education, led by Professor Hisham Mehanna, Chair of Head and Neck Surgery, patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital could receive new treatments after as little as twelve months.
Get A-Head aims to raise £250,000 to help fund a new Accelerated Cancer Drug treatment programme for the next five years. The programme will start with head and neck cancers or thyroid cancers.
To find out more about the Accelerated Cancer Drug fund please click here
Medullary Thyroid Cancer (MTC) Fund
MTC is a rare type of thyroid cancer that can run in families and it accounts for 10% of thyroid cancer cases in the UK. The outlook for people with MTC is not as good as those with other types of thyroid cancer, partly due to the way it responds to the current treatments we have. The earlier MTC can be identified, the better the outcome for the individual.
We are currently funding a research project that is investigating the role of genetics in MTC, with the aim of identifying the genes predisposing to MTC and thereby potential therapeutic targets and treatments.
To find out more about our Medullary Thyroid Cancer research project please click here.
Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) Fund
ACC is a rare type of cancer that can exist in many different body sites. It most often occurs in the areas of the head and neck, in particular the Salivary Glands but has also been reported in other sites. Only 20-25 Diagnosis’s in the UK per year. Regardless of where it starts, ACC tends to spread along nerves and bloodstream. The most common place of metastases (spreading) is the lung.
We are providing funding for a 3-year project that is combining knowledge obtained using state of the art molecular biology techniques to genetically profile tumours obtained from patients, with data from studies in laboratory models to assess how effective targeted therapies are in treating these tumours.
To find out more about The Royal Marsden research project into Adenoid Cystic Carcinome please click here.
