Teenage Cancer Trust

“The needs of these young people were being totally ignored. When we first came along, if you were under 18, you were treated with children, with babies. "Was it right for a 16-year-old to be with a 16-month-old?" In this week's The Telegraph Christmas Appeal feature, Dr Adrian Whiteson OBE and Myrna Whiteson MBE, founders and life presidents of Teenage Cancer Trust, share how the charity began 👇 https://lnkd.in/eadcYx33

What is advance care planning ❓   If you're a young person with cancer you might want to create an advance care plan to outline what you do or don't want to happen with your care in the future. It can also include instructions on what you’d like the people caring for you to do if you become too unwell to make decisions for yourself.   We’ve teamed up with Marie Curie UK to explain more about advanced care planning, and why it might be important to a young person going through cancer. Find out more about advance care planning for young people with cancer 👇 https://lnkd.in/ek_wDcmJ

Introducing our brand new Your Life After Treatment booklet ✨ Created in collaboration with young people who have had cancer, this book is for anyone who had cancer as a young person who has now finished the majority of their treatment. What’s in Your Life After Treatment ❓ The book is broken down into three sections: - Your end of treatment summary: this section offers young people the chance to keep all the important information about their treatment, diagnosis and follow-ups in one place that’s easy to access. - What you need to know: this section summarises lots of the key information useful for young people finishing treatment. This includes: late effects, returning to education/work, applying for benefits and much more. - Your space: this section is free space for young people to use as they wish. We’ve made some suggestions of how you might like to use this space, based on what other young people told us, but ultimately this space is for you to do what you want! ✏ We’ve worked really closely with young people our Nurses and Youth Support Coordinators on the development of this book. More than 200 young people have been involved in outlining topics that needed to be covered, inspiring and feeding back on initial design concepts and supporting with writing the foreword. Find out more 👇 https://lnkd.in/epxx6QHy

"Today, at 18, I’m living proof of the power of hope and resilience – and the importance of clinical trials that bring life-saving treatments to young people like me." As part of the The Telegraph Christmas Appeal 2024, Harry talks about the importance of access to clinical trials for young people 👇 https://lnkd.in/e8pAivTw

Georgia was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at 19, after initially having her symptoms dismissed as "teenage problems". This week she shared her story with ITV West Anglia, highlighting the importance of being aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer. Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/ed4bAcFj

We’re thrilled to share that this year’s CarFest has raised an incredible £1.26 million for their charity partners, including Teenage Cancer Trust!   Thanks to the brilliant CarFest team and all those who attended, we’ll be receiving £88,200 to support young people with cancer 💙 Can we raise even more in 2025? Let’s find out – sign up to the CarFest Early Access List now to be the first to purchase tickets for 2025! 👇 https://lnkd.in/efmSpJSa

"One thing you don’t expect to be faced with as a teenager battling cancer is the thought of whether you’ll be able to have children someday. "Just a week after being told I had cancer, I was sitting in a fertility clinic with my dad, grappling with this surreal detour in my life." As part of the The Telegraph Christmas Appeal 2024, Tom shares how his testicular cancer diagnosis impacted his fertility 👇 https://lnkd.in/e-HPZGQj #NationalFertilityAwarenessWeek

5 ways our Youth Support Coordinators help young people with cancer ⬇ Today marks the start of Youth Work Week and we want to highlight the different ways our Youth Support Coordinators help young people deal with the emotional and practical impact of cancer. Focus on the individual 💙 The Youth Support Coordinator role is non-medical, so they’re 100% focused on the individual, not the diagnosis. They’re the go-to person for anything non-medical that will help deal with cancer. Someone to talk to 💬 They’re there for young people when they are first diagnosed. They can talk through the support that’s available and are there to support young people if they just need someone to listen. Helping with work and studies 📚 They can help young people let their school, college, university or employer know about their cancer. They’re also there to support if a young person is thinking about returning to work or study and adjusting to life after cancer Questions and support ❓ Our Youth Support Coordinators can help answer questions about anything - relationships, fertility, body image. They can also help refer young people for extra support e.g. with their mental health. Bringing people together 💙 They’re also skilled at bringing young people with cancer together to support each other. They make sure our units are a relaxed and welcoming place where young people can bond over TV, games or pizza. And they run group activities and discussions – online or in person when possible – that encourage young people to open up, share their experiences of cancer with each other, and realise they’re not alone. Learn more about how our Youth Support Coordinators are there for young people with cancer 👇 https://lnkd.in/eTQETZuN

We’re thrilled to be chosen as one of the four charities working with The Telegraph for their Christmas Charity Appeal 2024. Today, and every day, seven young people aged 13-24 in the UK will hear the words ‘you have cancer’.  Teenage Cancer Trust is only UK charity dedicated to providing the nursing care and support to help them get through it, but we are facing one of the toughest times in our history.    Kate Collins, Chief Executive, Teenage Cancer Trust, said ⬇   “Cancer in young people is on the increase at time when the NHS is under huge pressure, the costs of funding our services have spiralled, and it’s become harder than ever to raise the money we need to keep our vital services running.   “Young people need our support more than ever. In addition to the pandemic impacting their education, social, and emotional growth, they now need to navigate the cost-of-living crisis. “It’s a perfect storm of increased and urgent need – and challenges in raising income. We are facing perhaps one of the toughest periods in Teenage Cancer Trust’s history and being chosen for the Telegraph’s Christmas Charity Appeal could not have come at a better time.”   Find out more and help support the work we do 👇 https://lnkd.in/ewzsWE3x

How can cancer impact family and friends ❓ Emotional support from families, partners and friends is crucial to getting young people through cancer – so building a family’s capacity to provide that support is a key way that our nurses and youth workers can support young people.  Nursing Lead, Hannah, shares how cancer can impact the families of a young person, and how she helps support families get through cancer together. Mixed emotions 💙 “The loved ones of young people with cancer can experience a whole mix of emotions. Initially there may be shock and disbelief, even if they've been waiting for a diagnosis. But the limbo of waiting for a diagnosis is also hideous, so for some people it comes as a relief because now they know a plan, and they're moving forward.” Facilitating conversations 💬 “It can be really scary for parents or partners to face a situation where they have to contemplate the worst. Part of our role is to facilitate those conversations. We can talk about how being vulnerable with one another is absolutely the right thing if it feels OK for you, and that having a cry in front of somebody you love doesn't make you weak in any way - it means that you give them permission to do the same.” Support groups 🤝 “We’ll support anybody who is helping a young person through cancer – parents, siblings, or partners. As well as a peer support group for young people, we’ve put together a parent support group. "Every 6 to 8 weeks we take the young people out for dinner and usually the parents are dropping them off, so we find two places near to each other, facilitate both groups and then at the end, bring them all back together. It's really beautiful to see them all share their experiences together.”