The C Tea

Happy 2025! In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer in Northern Ireland and Helen from Cancer Fund for Children chat to the wonderful Keira and Sophie. Keira was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) when she was 14 years old. Sophie was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when she was 11 years old. After meeting at a Cancer Fund for Children residential they have become fierce friends and spend this episode chatting about their diagnosis and treatment, life in hospital, their wonderful dads, hair loss and how important it’s been to meet others who just get it.

In this podcast we reference some different charities and events that young people with cancer can access. They are: Cancer Fund for Children (see contact details below and more information below), the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, and Barretstown in the Republic of Ireland.

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children 

If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer and Helen from Cancer Fund for Children speak to Luci who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when she was 15 years old. Luci talks about what led up to her diagnosis, her treatment in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, and what life has been like since treatment finished. Enjoy!

Thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund for funding this podcast and enabling us to share the stories of children, young people and their families in Northern Ireland. 

If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children 

In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer and Helen from Cancer Fund for Children speak to Abbey who was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma in her left food when she was 17 years old. Abbey’s treatment was an amputation of her foot below the knee so this podcast talks about that surgery, recovery and the process of getting a prosthesis. This is an episode full of lots of laughter and funny stories so please enjoy!

If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children 

It’s UCAS season again!! In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer in Northern Ireland talks about all things cancer and UCAS- if you’re currently in school and completing your application … or maybe you’ve taken a few years out for treatment or to work this podcast might be a helpful starting point when it comes to disclosing your diagnosis to UCAS and universities.

We are also joined by Cairenn McDonnell the Senior Medical Social Worker for the AYA team in Dublin to answer questions about the process in the south of Ireland for those wanting to apply there.

Young Lives vs Cancer is running a UCAS special drop in on Friday 4th of October 2024 from 2 – 3pm. For more info contact us via Live Chat on our website.

If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children 

Happy International Friendship Day! In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer in Northern Ireland and her friend of 20 years Erin have come together to answer your anonymous agony aunt questions about all things cancer and friendship with some helpful advice and reflections from Olaf, Mark, Judith and Holly as well who have all been supported by Young Lives vs Cancer.

In this podcast we reference some different charities and events that young people with cancer can access. They are: Teenage Cancer Trust, Cancer Fund for Children (contact details below), Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, Look Good Feel Better, and Move Forward. You can also read more of Laura’s helpful advice for friends on the Young Lives vs Cancer website here.

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If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

Website: www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk | Amy’s House Belfast | Paul’s House Belfast  

Email: [email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected]  

Call: 0300 303 5220 

Facebook: Young Lives vs Cancer in Northern Ireland  | Simon & Laura’s Instagram: @Simon.YoungLives | @LauraYoungLives  | Move Forward Crossfit Programme Instagram: @CrossfitMoveForward 

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children 

Website: https://cancerfundforchildren.com/ | Daisy Lodge | Referral Form  

Email: [email protected] | [email protected]  

Call: 028 9080 5599  

Facebook: Cancer Fund for Children  | Instagram: @CancerFundforChildren 

In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer chats with Lana and Kerrie about cancer related fatigue. Here are some links to the external charities/organisations who may be able to support you with your fatigue or provide more information:  

• Macmillan Coping with Fatigue (tiredness) Booklet  

• Trekstock’s resources on Exercise and their RENEW programme information 

If you are struggling with cancer related fatigue it’s worth chatting with your medical team so they can do a full check up on you to make sure there’s no other reason for the fatigue and they may be able to signpost to other professionals (like occupational therapists or counselling) or specialist programmes (like Move Forward!). You could also speak to your Young Lives vs Cancer Social Worker to get support with work/education adaptions.  

If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children 

If you’d like to get in touch with Teenage Cancer Trust 

Sorry for the audio quality in this podcast! We recommend listening with headphones.  

In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer and Helen from Cancer Fund for Children chat with Gareth who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Lauren with Leukaemia and Lee with . All of them had stem cell transplant as part of their treatment but as you'll hear the impact on them in terms of treatment and post-treatment has been so different. 

JOIN THE STEM CELL REGISTER TODAY! Under 30 years old register via Anthony Nolan. Over 30? Register via DKMS UK.  

If you’d like to read more about stem cell transplants you can on the Teenage Cancer Trust website here, more about Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) on the Macmillan website, more advice from Young Lives vs Cancer about long hospital stays here (including helpful packing information). Gareth, Lauren and Lee recommend: a v shaped or pregnancy pillow (or just your own familiar pillow/blanket from home), treats and cooked food (even though appetite might be low) and downloaded shows/books (to circumvent poor wifi).  

If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children 

In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer and Helen from Cancer Fund for Children chat with Maddie and Finn who were diagnosed with Melanoma. They discuss what let them to diagnosis, their symptoms, treatment and lasting effects. They also discuss the power of friendships and meeting other people diagnosed with the same cancer as you. 

If you’d like to read more about Melanoma you can do on the Young Lives vs Cancer website here 

If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children 

We also recommended looking at the resources and support from Melanoma Focus and Melanoma UK 

In this podcast Helen and Conor from Cancer Fund for Children speak to Connor about his experience of diagnosis and treatment for Leukaemia. He discusses the events that led to his diagnosis, how gaming helped him through his time in hospital and the unwavering support from his family.

Cancer Fund for Children are working to build a Youth Engagement Group to ensure the voice of children and young people is at the heart of our organisation and they are an active voice in championing change across cancer services & we’d love for you to be involved

All applicants would need to be young people affected by cancer, aged between 8 & 17 and within 3 years of referral to the Cancer Fund for Children/4 years of bereavement

Want to apply? Simply follow the instructions on the application form here

Further questions? Why not get in touch with our Youth Engagement Specialist Laura via email at [email protected]

You can read more about Leukaemia on the Young Lives vs Cancer website here.

Information on mental health support in NI can be accessed on the podcast description for s1e3 here.  

If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children 

In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer and Helen from Cancer Fund for Children speak to Leah, Danni and Annaliese about their very individual experiences of diagnosis and treatment for papillary thyroid cancer. They discuss symptoms before diagnosis, treatment and reactions from friends and family.  

If you’d like to get in touch with Young Lives vs Cancer 

If you’d like to get in touch with Cancer Fund For Children