16 September 2024
Through our In The Same Boat series, young people tell you themselves the importance of receiving support to improve their emotional and mental wellbeing after treatment, and how being with others who have been through similar things helped to turn their lives around. In the latest edition during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Eleri, Rosie, Asha, Ali and Edward talk about how the support from the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust helped to rebuild their confidence and self-belief after their cancer diagnoses.
In June, a ground-breaking new State of the System report - a collaboration of four of the UK’s leading children’s and young people’s cancer charities including the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust – found almost half of those diagnosed with cancer as a child (47%) report having a strong or moderate needs to talk with counsellors, psychologists or social workers.
Name: Eleri (pictured on the right)
Age: 11
Diagnosis: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
“I missed a lot of nursery. A nurse would come to my school to prick my finger every week.
“I’m the only one from my school that had cancer. I didn’t know anyone else that had cancer until this trip. My parents would talk to me about it and I would know a lot about it, but it was nice to talk to someone that actually had cancer, instead of someone that was with me in the experience.
“I used to be nervous about telling people that I had cancer. It was nerve-wracking to say, ‘I had cancer, and I beat it’, because they might think you sound arrogant, but it’s really not. It’s something you can be proud of. I’ve learned that on this trip.
“It’s important to build people’s confidence and make them feel better about what they went through if they were feeling down about it.”
Name: Rosie
Age: 17
Diagnosis: Neuroblastoma
“I was a baby when I had cancer. I don’t remember much of treatment, but I do remember a lot of what happened afterwards – a lot of surgeries and scans. I might have to have surgery on my foot and leg in the future.
“I was 12 when I came on my first trip, and I was the most insecure 12-year-old you could imagine. I didn’t want to speak to anyone. I didn't want to do anything new. I didn’t want to be away from home.
“As I’ve continued to go on the trips, I’ve built up my confidence, I’ve met new people, and I’ve become less insecure about myself. I’ve come to accept myself more than I did before, and I don’t think I would’ve if I didn’t come on these trips. It makes me feel amazing. It makes me feel seen.”
Name: Ali
Age: 10
Diagnosis: Intercranial non-germinomatous germ cell tumour
“I had a brain tumour. One day I was having headaches and started seeing double because the tumour was blocking the fluid. I had chemotherapy then went to a different hospital and had radiotherapy. I’m still having blood tests every two or three months and MRIs every three months.
“It’s nice to meet other people who have had the same and we can talk about it. It’s like we’ve been friends for a really long time but actually we just met three days ago. I won’t forget this.”
Name: Asha
Age: 16
Diagnosis: Stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma
“Although your cancer’s gone, your treatment hasn’t ended. I’m still on tablets today and I’ve got lots of side effects. It’s not affecting me as much as when I was having treatment, but there are still things going on. Once you get the all clear, it’s very daunting and almost scarier because all of the hospital visits, all of the nurses and doctors that are reassuring you slowly disappear.
“I’m healthy, but you don’t feel it. You feel lost on what to do because before there was so much help and now you’ve got nothing. With cancer, losing my hair, losing weight, everything about me has changed. I felt very self-conscious about my looks, having gone through this and thinking no one understands me now that I’m a bit different.
“I was looking to do something and get out of the house because when I was going through treatment, I was high infection risk, so I couldn’t do anything. It’s nice to hear other people’s experience and compare. You feel heard, like someone actually gets what you’re going through rather than telling someone who hasn’t been through it, and just agreeing.”
Name: Edward
Age: 14
Diagnosis: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
“These trips have really made me feel normal. Going through it at the time, it was so long ago for me now, I hardly I remember it. I was five when I was diagnosed, now I’m 14. It’s been so many years, but I think looking back on it with all these people, it does make me feel better about it. Everyone’s been through it almost the same.
“It’s a very smooth road on the trip, not many rocks here. But, before getting to this point, there’s a lot that everyone here has had to overcome. It’s good that we all get to talk about it with each other.
“The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust gives young people like us opportunities that you might not get anywhere else. There’s so much to do, you’re always busy and it can take your mind off a lot of stuff. Being out on the water helps to clear your head.”