Today is the eve of the first anniversary of Georgie’s death
(and my birthday!). As I explained yesterday, all my posts this week will be
related to Georgie and his cancer battle in some way. Today I will be focusing
on The Teenage Cancer Trust which is an amazing organisation that really helped
Georgie during his three year battle. I want to shine a light on this fantastic
organisation and all that they do for teenagers and young people with cancer.
Being a teenager is hard. You have all these hormones
running riot in your body, which is going through major changes anyway, you
have to get through school and try to start figuring out what kind of person
you are and what you want to do with your life. You want to fit in with your
peers, try new things, and enjoy your freedom. Imagine coping with all of that
AND being diagnosed with cancer?
The Teenage Cancer Trust was formed in 1990 after a group of
women stumbled across a teenager suffering from cancer and realised how hard it
was for young people suffering from the disease. They were fundraising for a
children’s unit at Guy’s Hospital and met a women whose son was battling cancer
aged just thirteen. He was being looked after on either the children’s ward or
alongside elderly people and it was having an effect on him and his reaction to
his treatment. The ladies met with his consultant who explained that teenagers
often suffer from rare cancers and require specialist help and support. This
inspired the ladies to raise money to help provide specialist support for
teenagers and the first TCT unit was built at the Middlesex Hospital.
The Teenage Cancer Trust realises teenagers need specialist
care when dealing with cancer. They need to be treated by specialists in an
environment that is created especially for them and their needs. Before the TCT, teens were treated in a children’s
ward and then moved onto an adult ward where they would often be surrounded by
elderly people reaching the end of their lives. TCT have built several
specialist units across the UK which bring teenagers suffering from cancer together
and hopefully they can feel less lonely and isolated. The units are run by
specialist doctors and nurses who are specially trained in dealing with teenage
cancer sufferers so they can provide excellent care, support and high standards
for these brave young people.
Georgie stayed at the specialist TCT unit at UCLH several
times. I visited him there quite often after work and I have to say, the unit
is amazing. The nurses are really friendly to the patient and their families.
It’s a clean, colourful and supportive environment with quite large rooms for
the patients to stay in. Georgie was having Photo Dynamic Therapy whilst at the
unit, which meant he needed to be in complete darkness for a few days. The
nurses were fabulous, they made sure his room was completely dark and was fiercely
protective over him. I went to walk into his room at one point and a nurse
swooped down on me to check who I was and to inform me that Georgie was to
remain in darkness. I didn’t feel insulted at all; I felt glad that these
nurses cared enough to make sure he was going to be ok. That’s what you want
from people in charge of your sick relatives care.
Aside from the units, TCT also provide:
* Specialist research into teenage cancer and why young people
get cancer. They also research the best treatments and how to improve
diagnosis, treatments and survival rates for teenagers suffering from cancer.
* TCT have an amazing education programme, set up with the aim
of educating young people in the UK about cancer and how to try and prevent it.
It’s all about empowering young people and encouraging them to take control of
their own health.
* TCT understands that cancer affects the whole family so they
try to provide support for parents, siblings, cousins etc... Throughout the
battle their loved one is facing.
* TCT hold an annual conference called “Find Your Sense of
Tumour” which sees over four hundred teenage cancer sufferers join together to
share their experiences and offer each other support and advice whilst learning
more about cancer. TCT also have an international conference which is only one
in the world dedicated to teenagers and cancer. Specialists from all over the
world come together to help teenagers with cancer by sharing their research and
their information.
Teenage Cancer Statistics:
* Six young people aged between thirteen and twenty four are
diagnosed with cancer everyday in the UK. That is around two thousand, one
hundred young people every year.
* 1/312 males and 1/361 females will be diagnosed with cancer
before their 20th birthday and cancer is the number one cause of
non-accidental death of young adults in the UK.
* Teenage cancer is now more common then childhood cancer but
survival rates have not improved much over the years
* Young people develop some of the most aggressive cancers but
they are often initially misdiagnosed because only about 0.6% of all cancers
occur in young people. This decreases their chance of survival and can lead to
them being excluded from clinical trials.
* Leukaemia, lymphoma and brain tumours are the most common
cancers for 13-18 year olds
* Lymphoma, carcinomas (soft tissue cancers) and germ cell
tumours (for example testicular) are the most common cancers in 19-24 year olds
* 61% of teenager cancer sufferers feel they could have been
diagnosed quicker
* 21% of teenage cancer sufferers were not referred to a
specialist by their GP AT ALL even though 59% were suffering from the most
common cancer symptoms ( pain, lumps or swelling, tiredness, headaches or
dramatic weight loss)
How You Can Help:
I speak from experience when I say Teenage Cancer Trust
provide invaluable help and support for young cancer sufferers. They are a
hugely important charity and one that helps so many people every year. Their
work is vital and they need fund to help them provide that service.
In July 2012 I will be taking part in a bucket collection
for TCT. Aptly mine will be taking place in the week of what should have been
Georgie’s 19th birthday. You can take a look on their website to
find out how you can take part in this collection or many other fundraising
challenges the charity needs volunteers for.
No teenager should have to face their own mortality and
battle cancer. I’ve had two loved ones fight the disease as teenagers: Stuart
won his battle but Georgie sadly lost his. Funds need to be raised to help TCT
make sure more teenagers survive like Stuart did.
Thank you TCT for providing Georgie and our family with so
much help and support during his cancer battle. I will never forget how much
you helped him and I will do my best to help you to help others like him across
the UK.
My very best wishes to any teenager or young person battling
cancer; I really hope you beat this horrific disease.
For more information on Teenage Cancer Trust, please visit
their website www.teenagecancertrust.org
For Georgie 28.07.93 - 25.04.11
xxx
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