Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Month is back!

Following the success of the first-ever Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Month last year, Young Lives vs Cancer has once again joined various cancer charities across the UK, including Teenage Cancer Trust, Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) to raise awareness of the experiences of young people with cancer. 

Throughout the month, young people with cancer will be sharing what it’s like to receive a diagnosis at a young age and the unique challenges it creates. Around 2,300 young people aged 15-24 are diagnosed with cancer every year. When you’re a teenager or young adult, it can feel like it takes your voice and your independence too. 

This year, young people will be sharing their stories while focusing on the collective theme of ‘empowering young people in healthcare’. Young people will be sharing what has helped them to feel empowered during their treatment and how charities, like Young Lives vs Cancer, have also supported this. 

Young Lives vs Cancer Social Workers are there to make sure young people with cancer get the right care and support at the right time and make sure every young person feels empowered. 

Amy, who was diagnosed with lymphoma at just 23 years old, is one of the young people sharing her story this month.  

Just after moving into a new flat in London with her boyfriend and starting her dream job as a dance teacher, Amy was diagnosed with lymphoma after having itchy skin, struggling to sleep and having a persistent cough. 

She went on to have chemotherapy treatment at Royal Marsden hospital in Sutton and had to stop working. She struggled with the costs of travel and had to move back in with her parents. 

Amy has now finished treatment and rung the end of treatment bell. She is determined to raise awareness of the experiences of young people with cancer so is sharing her story on social media and has attended various meetings at Parliament to share more about the financial impact on young people too.  

Amy says: “It’s so important to hear the stories of the young people effected by cancer, and to raise awareness for the amazing work of charities. Without these charities my experience would have been completely different – they managed to make my experience feel manageable and understood the struggles of a diagnosis at such a young age.”  

This Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Month, Amy will be joined by several other young people with cancer sharing their story with Young Lives vs Cancer. They are all raising awareness of the specific challenges and experiences young people face during cancer treatment and beyond.  

Helen Gravestock, Director of Policy, Communications and Voice at Young Lives vs Cancer says: “Getting a cancer diagnosis at any age is tough but at a time when teenagers and young adults should be forging their paths and figuring out who they are, it can feel like it takes away their voice and independence. This is why Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Month is so important as it creates a space for young people, like Amy, to share their voices and experiences and raise awareness of the unique challenges they face. 

“Our social workers are there to support young people, like Amy, to make sure they get the right care and support at the right time and that every young person feels empowered during their treatment.”