Teenage Cancer

Six teenagers a day in the UK are told that they have cancer. One in 330 boys and one in 420 girls will develop cancer before they are 20 years old. After accidents, cancer is the most common cause of death in this age group.

The same hormones which give us a growth spurt and change our bodies from those of children to adults, can also mean that tumours grow aggressively, and that forms of cancer appear which are not normally seen in younger children or adults.

Being told you have cancer is never good news, but it is especially difficult at an age where you want to be out and about with friends, not stuck in hospital. The illness itself - or the treatment - can bring about physical changes which could be devastating at an age when we are hypersensitive about our appearance.

Being able to talk to people going through exactly what they're gong through makes a huge difference to teenage cancer patients - and is a great advantage of Teenage Cancer Trust's specialist units. Alongside this, there is a medical team who pool knowledge to create a body of expertise that's second to none.

 

Kilimanjaro is quite choosy: It let Chris Moyles the Radio 1 DJ conquer it as part of the 2009 Red Nose Day celebrity climbing team...

...but turned down Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire, despite the huge team of porters he employed - 113 porters for his group of 7 people.