FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4061046

LEAD IN:

A choir without a voice is set to tour Europe to raise awareness of the plight of throat cancer patients.

The group, fitted with artificial voice boxes, call themselves "Shout at Cancer" because they're fighting back against the cancer which robbed them of their ability to speak.

STORY-LINE:

Thanks to this choir, these people are able to 'shout' again and they're aiming to 'let it all out' as loudly as they possibly can.

The words of the song by the 1980s pop band "Tears for Fears" is special to them and they've named themselves "Shout at Cancer" because of it.

Here the choir's been given the opportunity of performing at the Royal College of Surgeons in London.

They're all on a mission to make people, including doctors, aware of how isolating and difficult it is to have throat cancer.

While most physicians understand the trauma of having cancer, not not everyone understands what it's like to live after having your voice taken away.

Apart from a few specialist voices, everyone here has had an operation to have their larynx cut out and their windpipe brought through to a hole made in the front of their throats.

The laryngectomy is a complex operation which takes several hours.

Afterwards breathing is never the same again.

Patients have to master the technique of using a valve which becomes a permanent reminder of the cancer.

To speak, patients have to draw air through the hole in their windpipe and use the valve to trap the air into the mouth.

This allows them to manipulate the air to form what doctors call a 'valve voice'.

Margaret Young discovered she had thyroid cancer over seven years ago, she thought it had been treated, but it spread and before Christmas two years ago she discovered it had metasticised.

It would not have occurred to Young to join a choir before her cancer, but she was persuaded to do it by a speech therapist who'd heard about "Shout at Cancer".

She remembers: "They kept saying I should join the choir, but I've never been able to sing, so they fooled me by saying, well you don't really have to sing, it's just speech therapy and well, they lied, because we do sing and that's how I've ended up in the choir. But it's nice to meet other people in the same position because you can become very isolated, it would be easy to become isolated."

Andrew Beaumont was among the first members of the choir.

He, like Young, had his voice box removed when his cancer spread.

Beaumont is a vigorous advocate for the charity: "It is absolutely essential, it stretches the tonal range one is able to create and apart from the social side, the sense of community and a sense of purpose. You know it's very important to have a sense of purpose in all things and this charity is unique in doing that for laryngectomees."

Shout at Cancer is also a charity which helps to fund the choir.

Thomas Moors is the co-founder and one of an array of medical experts from scientists, voice therapists, musicians and surgeons who are raising money to spearhead new research.

They want a scientific enquiry into how music therapy can be used aid voice exercises for people who have had laryngectomies and examine how it can be used to ensure they're not isolated by the rest of society.

Although there are published studies physical problems experienced by laryngectomees, there is little research on their their emotional welfare or the psychosocial implications of the operation.

An additional problem is that most laryngectomees are nearing retirement which means they are more easily isolated.

Evangelos Himonides from University College London is among the scientists aiming to use music as a tool to help survivors of throat cancer.

"There's nothing about all the psychosocial factors that are part of this game and anything that is to do with how we can foster the development of these people, how we can enable their engagement and how we can help them gain the confidence and the support structures and all the different understandings that need to be in place, so that they can return back to society, they can relinquish the stigma that is connected to this."

The charity says there is simply not enough research, or progress into using new technologies because the number of laryngectomies each year are relatively few.

Here in the UK there are fewer than 1,800 operations a year according to "Shout at Cancer".

During the concert, choir member Jean Cooper reads her testimonial: "I thought I would never talk again and I did, I thought I would never sing again and I have. Now I know I can do anything and I will, I am me again."

Though the sentiment is personal, her experience is shared by the rest of the choir.

As well as conducting, Dr. Thomas Moors is the choir's director and cofounder of Shout at Cancer.

He is hoping the choir will make people sit up and understand the needs of people surviving throat cancer - better social support, better voice training services and even research into better technology.

Moors says: "Up to thirty percent, forty percent of them get into social isolation because of the effect on their voice and psychological affects. Does it have an effect by them joining the choir, yes. As soon as they do it, after their first concert, but (also) going and preparing and meeting up and having the group effect and enjoying the music and the sound they are producing together, it has an amazingly uplifting effect on them and they are the best ambassadors for this project themselves, because they go out and they spread the word and they are so enthusiastic about it that sometimes I even have to ask them to shut up. (laughs)."

As well as planning a number of Christmas concerts, next spring the choir will travel Brussels and Barcelona to spread their message.

Music/video/performance rights must be cleared

London, UK - 5 October 2016

1. Mid of Shout at Cancer choir who've all had laryngectomies rehearsing their signature tune "Shout" by Tears for Fears

2. Close tilt down over the shoulder of charity founder Dr. Thomas Moors with choir in background

3. Close of concert pianist

4. Mid of choir

5. Close of pianist

6. Close of musical score

7. Wide of choir

8. Close of people in audience

9. Mid of audience

10. Wide pan from choir to audience applauding

11. UPSOUND: (English) Margaret Young, choir member, Shout at Cancer (shows wide of Margaret Young reading composition)

"It's gone, the box, the vocal chords, they took it all away. If I am mid sentence and I stop, it's not by choice. So I'll ask you again in a different way: can you hear my voice?"

12. Mid of audience applauding

13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Margaret Young, choir member, Shout at Cancer

"They kept saying I should join the choir, but I've never been able to sing, so they fooled my by saying, well you don't really have to sing, it's just speech therapy and well, they lied, because we do sing and that's how I've ended up in the choir. But it's nice to meet other people in the same position because you can become very isolated, it would be easy to become isolated."

14. Close of choir member pressing their speech valve

15. Close of Dr Thomas Moors directing choir with professional mezzo soprano La Verne Williams in the background

16. Close of speech valve on choir member

17. Tracking shot of Moors' hands

18. Various of choir members rehearsing "We Will Rock You" by Queen

19. Close tilt up of Andrew Beaumont pressing his speech valve to his face during singing

20. Mid rear view of choir during rehearsal

21. SOUNDBITE: (English) Andrew Beaumont, choir member, Shout at Cancer:

"It is absolutely essential, it stretches the tonal range one is able to create and apart from the social side, the sense of community and a sense of purpose. You know it's very important to have a sense of purpose in all things and this charity is unique in doing that for laryngectomees."

22. Close pan of audience (of surgeons and voice therapists) listening to La Verne Williams explain the use of vocal exercise

23. Close pan up of pianist playing "Brussels" by Jaques Brel accompanied by choir including Williams

24. Mid zoom out of Williams to reveal whole choir

25. Various of choristers singing accompaniment to Brussels

26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Evangelos Himonides, senior lecturer, University College London:

"There's nothing about all the psychosocial factors that are part of this game and anything that has to do with how we can foster the development of these people, how we can enable their engagement and how we can help them gain the confidence and the support structures and all the different understandings that need to be in place, so that they can return back to society, they can relinquish the stigma that is connected to this."

27. UPSOUND: (English) Jean Cooper, choir member, Shout at Cancer (reading her Testimonial during concert)

"I thought I would never talk again and I did, I thought I would never sing again and I have. Now I know I can do anything and I will, I am me again."

28. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. Thomas Moors, director, founder, Shout at Cancer:

"Up to thirty percent, forty percent of them get into social isolation because of the effect on their voice and psychological affects. Does it have an effect by them joining the choir, yes. As soon as they do it, after their first concert, but (also) going and preparing and meeting up and having the group effect and enjoying the music and the sound they are producing together, it has an amazingly uplifting effect on them and they are the best ambassadors for this project themselves, because they go out and they spread the word and they are so enthusiastic about it that sometimes I even have to ask them to shut up. (laughs)."

29. Various of choir singing their own composition for the Paralympians " Together we shout … Louder!"

LEAD IN:

A choir without a voice is set to tour Europe to raise awareness of the plight of throat cancer patients.

The group, fitted with artificial voice boxes, call themselves "Shout at Cancer" because they're fighting back against the cancer which robbed them of their ability to speak.

STORY-LINE:

Thanks to this choir, these people are able to 'shout' again and they're aiming to 'let it all out' as loudly as they possibly can.

The words of the song by the 1980s pop band "Tears for Fears" is special to them and they've named themselves "Shout at Cancer" because of it.

Here the choir's been given the opportunity of performing at the Royal College of Surgeons in London.

They're all on a mission to make people, including doctors, aware of how isolating and difficult it is to have throat cancer.

While most physicians understand the trauma of having cancer, not not everyone understands what it's like to live after having your voice taken away.

Apart from a few specialist voices, everyone here has had an operation to have their larynx cut out and their windpipe brought through to a hole made in the front of their throats.

The laryngectomy is a complex operation which takes several hours.

Afterwards breathing is never the same again.

Patients have to master the technique of using a valve which becomes a permanent reminder of the cancer.

To speak, patients have to draw air through the hole in their windpipe and use the valve to trap the air into the mouth.

This allows them to manipulate the air to form what doctors call a 'valve voice'.

Margaret Young discovered she had thyroid cancer over seven years ago, she thought it had been treated, but it spread and before Christmas two years ago she discovered it had metasticised.

It would not have occurred to Young to join a choir before her cancer, but she was persuaded to do it by a speech therapist who'd heard about "Shout at Cancer".

She remembers: "They kept saying I should join the choir, but I've never been able to sing, so they fooled me by saying, well you don't really have to sing, it's just speech therapy and well, they lied, because we do sing and that's how I've ended up in the choir. But it's nice to meet other people in the same position because you can become very isolated, it would be easy to become isolated."

Andrew Beaumont was among the first members of the choir.

He, like Young, had his voice box removed when his cancer spread.

Beaumont is a vigorous advocate for the charity: "It is absolutely essential, it stretches the tonal range one is able to create and apart from the social side, the sense of community and a sense of purpose. You know it's very important to have a sense of purpose in all things and this charity is unique in doing that for laryngectomees."

Shout at Cancer is also a charity which helps to fund the choir.

Thomas Moors is the co-founder and one of an array of medical experts from scientists, voice therapists, musicians and surgeons who are raising money to spearhead new research.

They want a scientific enquiry into how music therapy can be used aid voice exercises for people who have had laryngectomies and examine how it can be used to ensure they're not isolated by the rest of society.

Although there are published studies physical problems experienced by laryngectomees, there is little research on their their emotional welfare or the psychosocial implications of the operation.

An additional problem is that most laryngectomees are nearing retirement which means they are more easily isolated.

Evangelos Himonides from University College London is among the scientists aiming to use music as a tool to help survivors of throat cancer.

"There's nothing about all the psychosocial factors that are part of this game and anything that is to do with how we can foster the development of these people, how we can enable their engagement and how we can help them gain the confidence and the support structures and all the different understandings that need to be in place, so that they can return back to society, they can relinquish the stigma that is connected to this."

The charity says there is simply not enough research, or progress into using new technologies because the number of laryngectomies each year are relatively few.

Here in the UK there are fewer than 1,800 operations a year according to "Shout at Cancer".

During the concert, choir member Jean Cooper reads her testimonial: "I thought I would never talk again and I did, I thought I would never sing again and I have. Now I know I can do anything and I will, I am me again."

Though the sentiment is personal, her experience is shared by the rest of the choir.

As well as conducting, Dr. Thomas Moors is the choir's director and cofounder of Shout at Cancer.

He is hoping the choir will make people sit up and understand the needs of people surviving throat cancer - better social support, better voice training services and even research into better technology.

Moors says: "Up to thirty percent, forty percent of them get into social isolation because of the effect on their voice and psychological affects. Does it have an effect by them joining the choir, yes. As soon as they do it, after their first concert, but (also) going and preparing and meeting up and having the group effect and enjoying the music and the sound they are producing together, it has an amazingly uplifting effect on them and they are the best ambassadors for this project themselves, because they go out and they spread the word and they are so enthusiastic about it that sometimes I even have to ask them to shut up. (laughs)."

As well as planning a number of Christmas concerts, next spring the choir will travel Brussels and Barcelona to spread their message.

AP TELEVISION - Music/video/performance rights must be cleared

London, UK - 5 October 2016

1. Mid of Shout at Cancer choir who've all had laryngectomies rehearsing their signature tune "Shout" by Tears for Fears

2. Close tilt down over the shoulder of charity founder Dr. Thomas Moors with choir in background

3. Close of concert pianist

4. Mid of choir

5. Close of pianist

6. Close of musical score

7. Wide of choir

8. Close of people in audience

9. Mid of audience

10. Wide pan from choir to audience applauding

11. UPSOUND: (English) Margaret Young, choir member, Shout at Cancer (shows wide of Margaret Young reading composition)

"It's gone, the box, the vocal chords, they took it all away. If I am mid sentence and I stop, it's not by choice. So I'll ask you again in a different way: can you hear my voice?"

12. Mid of audience applauding

13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Margaret Young, choir member, Shout at Cancer

"They kept saying I should join the choir, but I've never been able to sing, so they fooled my by saying, well you don't really have to sing, it's just speech therapy and well, they lied, because we do sing and that's how I've ended up in the choir. But it's nice to meet other people in the same position because you can become very isolated, it would be easy to become isolated."

14. Close of choir member pressing their speech valve

15. Close of Dr Thomas Moors directing choir with professional mezzo soprano La Verne Williams in the background

16. Close of speech valve on choir member

17. Tracking shot of Moors' hands

18. Various of choir members rehearsing "We Will Rock You" by Queen

19. Close tilt up of Andrew Beaumont pressing his speech valve to his face during singing

20. Mid rear view of choir during rehearsal

21. SOUNDBITE: (English) Andrew Beaumont, choir member, Shout at Cancer:

"It is absolutely essential, it stretches the tonal range one is able to create and apart from the social side, the sense of community and a sense of purpose. You know it's very important to have a sense of purpose in all things and this charity is unique in doing that for laryngectomees."

22. Close pan of audience (of surgeons and voice therapists) listening to La Verne Williams explain the use of vocal exercise

23. Close pan up of pianist playing "Brussels" by Jaques Brel accompanied by choir including Williams

24. Mid zoom out of Williams to reveal whole choir

25. Various of choristers singing accompaniment to Brussels

26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Evangelos Himonides, senior lecturer, University College London:

"There's nothing about all the psychosocial factors that are part of this game and anything that has to do with how we can foster the development of these people, how we can enable their engagement and how we can help them gain the confidence and the support structures and all the different understandings that need to be in place, so that they can return back to society, they can relinquish the stigma that is connected to this."

27. UPSOUND: (English) Jean Cooper, choir member, Shout at Cancer (reading her Testimonial during concert)

"I thought I would never talk again and I did, I thought I would never sing again and I have. Now I know I can do anything and I will, I am me again."

28. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. Thomas Moors, director, founder, Shout at Cancer:

"Up to thirty percent, forty percent of them get into social isolation because of the effect on their voice and psychological affects. Does it have an effect by them joining the choir, yes. As soon as they do it, after their first concert, but (also) going and preparing and meeting up and having the group effect and enjoying the music and the sound they are producing together, it has an amazingly uplifting effect on them and they are the best ambassadors for this project themselves, because they go out and they spread the word and they are so enthusiastic about it that sometimes I even have to ask them to shut up. (laughs)."

29. Various of choir singing their own composition for the Paralympians " Together we shout … Louder!"