The C Tea

In this podcast Laura from Young Lives vs Cancer and Helen from Cancer Fund for Children speak to Simon and Miranda about their son Ozzie who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia when he was 15 years old and sadly died in 2020. They discuss parenting through cancer and into bereavement and beyond. Please note this podcast is about the death of a child, which you may find upsetting or distressing. Please note as well that any medical discussion in this recording is strictly to do with Ozzie’s circumstances and will not be applicable to others.   

Ozzie was a brilliant talented musician- you can check out his music on his Youtube channel and Instagram 

There are organisations in Northern Ireland to support you and your family with bereavement. They are: Child Bereavement UK, Winston's Wish, the Compassionate Friends, Slow Group (online), Cruse Bereavement Support, as well as Young Lives vs Cancer and Cancer Fund for Children (details below). If you are a parent who has lost a child to cancer you can join our Young Lives vs Cancer Parent's Bereavement Facebook Group for peer support. 

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

Email: [email protected]

Call: 0300 303 5220 

Simon & Laura’s Instagram: @Simon.YoungLives | @LauraYoungLives 

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

Email: [email protected] 

Call: 028 9080 5599  

This podcast is a conversation between Kathleen and Mise talking about motherhood before, during, and after cancer treatment. The last 15(ish) minutes of the podcast feature a fertility Q&A with Lisa Callendar Teenage Cancer Trust Clinical Nurse Specialist from the Ulster Hospital in Northern Ireland.  

For anyone diagnosed with cancer while pregnant or within 12 months after giving birth Mummy’s Star is a UK wide charity providing support  

If you’re concerned about your fertility before or after cancer treatment we have put together some resources that may be helpful- but please note you can speak to your clinical nurse specialist or Young Lives vs Cancer social worker for support with these issues. 

Here are some websites which talk about fertility preservation for people undergoing (or who have undergone) cancer treatment. Check out the Sex and Fertility information on the Young Lives vs Cancer website, the Teenage and Young Adults with Cancer information on their website, the Cancer, Fertility and Me website, or the Macmillan website. If you’d like more information on alternative routes to parenthood (adoption, fostering and surrogacy) please look at the Young Lives vs Cancer Instagram account @younglivesvscancer under the highlight ‘Parenthood Q&A’.  

Here is the website for the Regional Fertility Centre in Belfast, with their information about sperm banking. The Cancer Research UK information on their website here is also brilliant and comprehensive. (Remember to check out episode 2 of this series if you’d like to hear Connor and Daniel talking about their experiences).  

If you are trans or non-binary check out this amazing new resource from the NHS Youth Form about your rights when accessing healthcare (scroll to the bottom to read about the document and download). Also check out Live Through This, a national charity who aim to provide opportunities for LGBTQI+ people affected by cancer to meet and share their experiences. Or TransgenderNI or Cara-Friend for non-cancer-specific support local to you in Northern Ireland.  

Mise gives a shout-out to Dani on Instagram (@danigmakeup)- an influencer who has amazing videos on wigs, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Give her a follow!  

Please remember that Young Lives vs Cancer and Cancer Fund for Children are here to support all children and young people (and their families!) diagnosed with cancer 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 

Thank you to Granite Exchange in Newry for all your help recording and producing this podcast series. Also to the National Lottery Community Fund for funding this podcast as part of our ‘Together we Thrive’ project and enabling us to share these stories.   

This conversation was between Judith and Timothy about how faith has helped them through their diagnosis, treatment and the dark times. Judith was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when she was 21 years old living in Edinburgh. Timothy was diagnosed with cancer when he was 9 years old and has, in his words, had several near death experiences. At the time of recording this podcast he is now 14 and continues to have ongoing treatment and hospital stays. If you’d like to read Judith’s blog post in full you can read it 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 

Thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund for funding this podcast as part of our ‘Together we Thrive’ project and enabling us to share these stories.   

This podcast episode was a conversation between Robert and John who are the dads of Adele and Fiadh. Adelle was diagnosed with cancer as a teenager and Fiadh when she was 4 years old. Both dads met at Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and formed a strong bond. They discuss mental health support for dads, their ‘dad’s club’ at the hospital, the strength of girls, and the importance of being on the same page with your partner.  

As a warning, this episode includes a bit of swearing, sometimes graphic conversations about childhood treatment for cancer and bereavement.  

Young Lives vs Cancer has a Facebook group for dads and male carers called ‘Mind the Chaps’ providing emotional, practical and peer support for dads across the UK. If you’re a mum check out our Young Lives vs Cancer for parents and carers group. Cancer Fund for Children runs multiple workshops, peer support and short breaks for parents. Contact them for more info.  

Relate NI and Action Cancer offer couples counselling to those who would benefit from those services  

Here are some bereavement charities and organisations who support families who have lost a loved one: Marie Curie, Anam Cara, Child Bereavement UK, The Compassionate Friends, Cruse Bereavement Support and Hope Again, Winston’s Wish, and Barnardo's Child Bereavement Service 

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 

Thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund for funding this podcast as part of our ‘Together we Thrive’ project and enabling us to share these stories.   

This was a conversation between Mark and Jaime which explored two different experiences of mental health throughout cancer treatment with the shared message to ‘speak up not man up’. Their advice is that your mind is the most powerful thing and it will get you through but you need to look after it. Think about who is supporting you. What are you looking at online? Is social media helping or hindering you. Have aims! Like exercise or a nice event. Talk to others who have been through something similar. And lastly- everyone and every situation is different so do what works for you.  

Read Young Lives vs Cancer’s Hidden Costs Report here 

Join Teenage Cancer Trust’s Not Ok campaign here  

If you’d like to find out more about the Crossfit Move Forward Programme running in Northern Ireland you can read about it on the Young Lives vs Cancer website here and follow them on Instagram @crossfitmoveforward. You can also check out Marks coaching page @mark_adams_coaching 

The Here2Help app aims to provide helplines for users to get support instantly while also providing a wide range of links to reading materials that can help people in their time of need. Download now for free for Android and Apple. Or check out Minding Your Head for services in your area.  

Other Mental Health charities and organisations that provide excellent support are: Aware, Pure Mental NI, Lifeline, Samaritans, PIPS, The Mix UK, Action Mental Health & Mindwise.  

For cancer specific support check out Macmillan, Cancer Focus NI , Action Cancer and Charis for their counselling services.   

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 

Thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund for funding this podcast as part of our ‘Together we Thrive’ project and enabling us to share these stories.   

This podcast episode was a conversation between Conor and Daniel who were diagnosed with cancer during their teenage and young adult years and met at a games night. They talk candidly about not taking on the cancer patient identity as a means of reclaiming control as they navigated diagnosis, treatment, and life post-cancer. They chat about the language around cancer, feeling obligated towards others' feelings, and the shame of attending a fertility clinic at 17 years old with your mum. This was a refreshingly honest and funny conversation which we would recommend to anyone considering entering a health or social care profession. 

If you’d like more information about sperm banking check out this leaflet from Belfast Trust / The Regional Fertility Centre or this information from the Cancer Research UK website. If your child is diagnosed with cancer before puberty there are less options to preserve fertility however research is growing in this area. Check out the Future Fertility Trust’s information on Testicular Tissue Cryopreservation. 

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 

Thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund for funding this podcast as part of our ‘Together we Thrive’ project and enabling us to share these stories.   

In this podcast Laura and Simon from Young Lives vs Cancer and Helen and Neil from Cancer Fund for Children discuss the services both charities provide to children, young people, and their families with a cancer diagnosis in Northern Ireland.

They discuss the uniqueness of their jobs, how they got those jobs, and share some advice for any young person or family listening who may find themselves joining the small community of children and young people diagnosed with cancer 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 

Here is a list of some other amazing charities in Northern Ireland and beyond we work with that may also be useful for you and your family: Teenage Cancer Trust, Alike, Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, Cancer Focus NI, Macmillan, Action Cancer, Friends of the Cancer Centre, The Children’s Cancer Unit Charity