Young Lives vs Cancer is the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity.

When cancer strikes young lives Young Lives vs Cancer helps families limit the damage it causes beyond their health. We provide specialist support, to help and guide children with cancer and their families. We will fight tirelessly for them, individually, locally and nationally, so they can focus on the important things.

Merryn was aged just five when she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain and spinal chord tumour after she started suffering seizures last summer.

As well as surgery, Merryn needed six months of treatment. The family had to travel from Cornwall to Bristol every other weekend, spending up to a week in hospital each time. The side effects of her treatment were brutal – at one point Merryn lost so much weight she just lay motionless

Thanks to kind donations, Young Lives vs Cancer Social Worker, Anna, was there for Merryn and her family. She arranged for Merryn’s parents and big sister to stay at our Bristol Home from Home, Sam’s House. It meant they didn’t have to travel two and a half hours from their home to hospital. And it saved them from having to face the spiralling costs of hotels and petrol, which can so often devastate families’ finances.

“Sometimes we were at Sam’s House for weeks at a time and financially it saved us. We can’t thank Young Lives vs Cancer enough for giving us that space to be close to Merryn when she was in hospital.” Stuart, Merryn’s dad