June 2010- International Charter of Rights for Young People with Cancer
What is this charter and what has it got to do with you?
Throughout the world cancer in young people is an issue. You are not a child or an older adult which means that sometimes your needs aren’t always looked at properly. The International charter of rights for young people with cancer is hoping to raise a bigger awareness and get more attention for the needs of young people with cancer.
Do you agree that you should be able to get information and support that is aimed at your age group? Do you think that your treatment should be given to you in special young people’s units?
As a teenager or young person you are in a group of your own when it comes to having treatment and getting support. This campaign is trying to get people in Britain and in other countries to recognise, act and improve cancer care for young people. It is hoped that this will mean you will be recognised as an individual group and that all your treatment and care will be aimed directly at you.
There are 10 main points that the charter looks at. If you want to find out more about it go to the International Charter of Rights for Young People with Cancer website. If you agree with what it says you can sign the Charter for yourself and hope to improve services for young people with cancer.
If you have any questions or need some support with anything you can send Nurse Laura a message or call the Macmillan helpline on 0808 808 00 00.
Bye for now TICers,
Nurse Laura
June 2010 - Have you just finished treatment or are you about to finish?
Are you worried about what happens next?
The end of treatment has come and everyone expects you to be really happy. Some of you might be, but don’t worry if you aren’t feeling totally over the moon. It’s completely normal to have mixed emotions at this stage. In one way it’s great because you won’t be feeling sick from the chemo and other drugs anymore, you won’t have to spend as much time in hospital and you’ll probably be able to go back to school/college/work.
These things will hopefully make life easier for you. But you might still feel worried and fed up. Maybe you’re worried that the cancer will come back but just remember most young people’s cancer doesn’t.
You may feel like the life line and easy access to your hospital has gone. It hasn’t. It’s really important to realise that the doctors and nurses that were looking after you while you were having your treatment are still there.
If you have any worries they’ll be more than happy to see you. You will probably have follow-up appointments quite regularly after your treatment finishes. This is just to check things are ok. But your visits to hospital will become less and less as time goes on.
Many young people feel worried about losing their support: worried that the cancer will come back and worried about getting back to ‘normal’ life. That’s a whole lot of big concerns to have to cope with. But you don’t have to cope by yourself. It’s important to tell someone what’s on your mind. You can either talk to someone in your family, your doctors and nurses, your teacher or call the Macmillan helpline on 0800 808 00 00.
You can send me a message asking about anything at all. Just send a message to Nurse Laura.
TIC's going to have some information on surviving cancer soon but it might also be useful to check out the After Cure website.
Jade Goody: focus on cervical cancer - April 2010
Hi TIC-ers!
Some of you might have seen on the TV and in the newspapers that it’s been a year since Jade Goody sadly lost her fight against cervical cancer. Jade did a lot of campaigning about the age that girls should start being screened for cervical cancer. She thought the legal age for screening should be reduced from 25 to 20.
What do you think? Do you think that cases like Jade’s show that smear tests should be given to people at 20? Do you think the government should make it law? In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the test is already available to woman of 20. But in England, screening doesn’t start until the age of 25 – they reviewed this last year but haven’t changed the age. This is based on research that says that screening in women aged 20-24 is less effective that screening women 25 and over. So is this unfair to women in England?
Cervical cancer is the 2nd most common cancer in women under 35 and many people don't go on to develop the disease because of the screening that is offered but do you think the screening offered to people young enough?
Some of you may have had or been told about the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination. It's offered to all girls between 12 and 18. It’s a vaccine that helps protect against 2 types of HPV that cause cervical cancer in over 70% of women. But between 18 and 25 women in England aren’t being screened or vaccinated. Do you think this matters or do you think that because girls are now having the vaccine it’s not so important that screening starts at 20?
It'd be great to know what you think. If you need any support or want to speak to someone about any issues from this blog or about anything to do with cancer remember that you can always speak to someone on Macmillan's helpline on 0808 808 00 00 or send me a message.
If you've just found out you have cancer - March 2010
As it was International Childhood Cancer Day last month I thought I’d talk about how people might feel when they’re newly diagnosed with cancer. Being told you have cancer is something that no-one expects to be told - especially when they’re young, fit and otherwise healthy. It can be a really scary and difficult time.
If you’ve just been told that you have cancer, it’s totally natural to feel scared. But sometimes finding out a bit more about the type of cancer you have or the treatment you’re going to have can really help. You can look on the TIC section ‘I’ve got what’ for cancer information that’s written specially for young people.
It’s a good idea to speak to a close friend or an adult who you trust so that you don’t keep your feelings to yourself. People often find that this really helps them cope with the news that they have cancer. Remember that everyone’s different, so what you see on the TV or read about in newspapers won’t necessarily happen to you. Speaking to another young person who’s been affected by cancer can also be very reassuring. Your doctor or nurse can usually introduce you to someone in a similar situation. You may also find it helpful to post a message on the forums and chat to others on the online community.
If going to hospital feels a bit alien to you at the moment, don’t worry - this is normal. When you start treatment you’ll quickly get to know the other people on the ward/unit where you are. It’s likely that you’ll make good friends with other patients and the staff too. When you feel comfortable with your new friends it’s worth talking about some of the things that may be on your mind. Chatting about stuff that’s worrying you often helps you feel better. You might also want to ask the nurses or doctors any questions that you have. For example:
- Will I be in pain?
- Will I lose my hair?
- Will I be sick?
- How much time will I have to spend in hospital?
Although you’re probably feeling pretty scared right now don’t keep things to yourself. There are people there to help you. As well as messaging me you can also call free on 0808 808 00 00 to speak to us.
Nurse Laura
Tell us what you really think
Hello again,
The eagle-eyed among you might have already spotted the TIC page highlighting our I’m Still Me booklet? As well as the TIC website, Macmillan produces a range of materials and publications to help young people come to terms with a cancer diagnosis.
I’m Still Me is a guide for young people affected by cancer that aims to answer some of the questions you may have about living with cancer.
You can download I’m Still Me and once you’ve had a chance to look at it, if you could spare a minute to tell us what you think of it that’d be great. There are a few questions on the I’m Still Me booklet page for you to fill in.
Don’t be afraid to be brutally honest about what you think: we need to know if there’s anything missing and if it’s easy to read and understand.
Thanks for your help guys,
Nurse Laura
Introducing our new TIC nurse: another Laura!
Hi Everyone!
A belated happy new year! Even though it seems like ages ago I hope that you enjoyed the Christmas break and that Santa was good to you. I’m Laura (yes, another Laura!) and I’m the new TIC nurse so I just wanted to say a quick hello. I’m really excited about working on the TIC site and about hearing from all of you.
Are there any cancer-related topics that you’d like me to discuss on my next blog?If so then just let me know and I'll look into putting something together. You can post your ideas on the forums or contact me through my profile page. It would be great to hear your ideas and thoughts.
This is literally a quick hi but I will be doing regular blogs so can’t wait to hear your topic ideas.
Bye for now!
Laura
Are you worried about swine flu? by Cancer support specialist, Laura
There’s loads of stuff in the news at the moment about swine flu.
Perhaps you know someone at school who has had it? It can be scary to think about, especially if you’ve been told you have more chance of picking up colds and flu because of your cancer.
Hopefully this blog will answer some of the questions you might have about swine flu and cancer.
As you probably know, cancer and its treatment can sometimes affect the number of healthy blood cells you have in your body. White blood cells help your immune system fight infection in your body. So if the number of white blood cells goes down, you might have more chance of picking up infections. Sometimes doctors and nurses call this ‘low immunity’.
Here’s what you can do to help reduce the risk of getting a cold or flu (including swine flu) if you have low immunity:
- ask friends and family not to visit you if they feel unwell
- avoid public transport, especially during the rush hour
- avoid crowded places like shopping centres or cinemas
- wash your hands regularly with soap and water, particularly before preparing or eating food
- ask your doctor if you need to have a flu jab. Some people worry about having it if they’re having chemo but that’s ok. Your doctor will know the best time to give it to you.
If you do get an infection, it’s important to tell your doctor straight away. Also let your doctor know if someone in close contact with you has swine flu.
Do you have any other questions about swine flu and cancer?
On the main Macmillan Cancer Support website, we’ve answered another question about it, which you might find useful.
June 2009 - When someone important to you dies - Cancer support specialist Laura
When someone important to you dies, it really hurts. You might hear some people call this grief. Grief affects people in different ways and sometimes understanding a bit more about it can help you deal with it.
I guess the first thing to say about grief is that there's no right or wrong way to cope with it. Everyone reacts differently because we're all so individual. Your personality, other experiences in life, and how you've dealt with things in the past can all affect how you cope with grief. No two people are the same and you need to be given the time and space to deal with it in your own way.
Grieving when someone important to you has died is a natural and healthy reaction. But that doesn't make it any easier. You can feel a whole range of emotions that may be really hard to cope with at times. You might feel shock, disbelief, numb, empty, fear, anger, resentful, guilty, confused, intense pain, sad, hopeless, and lonely. You may not be able to concentrate and find that you're crying when you don't expect to.
Sometimes people don't feel anything for a little while because there can be lots of things going on. Some people find it's not until after the more practical things are sorted out that they notice how they're feeling. Occasionally people find it's months after the person they love has died that they start to feel anything.
Feelings of grief can also change over time. You might have days when things feel a little better followed by moments when you can't imagine the pain and sadness ever going away. It can be hard to understand these changes but it's natural to have ups and downs.
In time, you will begin to adjust to life without the person who died and life will start to feel better. This doesn't mean that you stop thinking about them or that you love them any less. It just means that you're starting to adjust to life without them.
Whatever you're feeling, it's important that you're able to express it in some way. This might be by talking to your friends and family or by talking to other people who are going through something similar. Some people find it hard to talk but they can get their thoughts and feelings down in writing or through art work.
Below are some practical ideas that may help you cope. These certainly aren't the only things you can do and it would be good to hear what's helped you cope when someone important to you has died.
- Remember that what you're feeling is normal.
- If you can, talk, write, draw, or paint how you're feeling.
- Try not to spend too much time alone. This can add to your feelings of loneliness.
- Be honest with your friends and family about what support helps and what doesn't help. People can have different ideas about this so sometimes it can help to say what you do and don't want.
- Look after yourself. Try to eat a healthy diet as you're more likely to feel unwell when you're under a lot of stress. Also if you drink alcohol, avoid drinking too much. You may feel it helps you relax and get off to sleep but this can actually make it more difficult to sleep and rest is really important.
- Think about happy memories of the person who has died and share them with other people.
- Do something special to help you remember the person who has died and help you express your feelings.
- Spend time with your friends and keep up with hobbies if you feel you can.
- Let your teachers know at school what's going on so that they can support you. Tell them if you're having any problems with your school work.
- Remember that recovery from grief can take months, a few years, or longer. This can't be rushed but in time you will begin to feel better.
- Contact Winston's Wish and RD4U which give support to children and young people who are coping with the death of someone important to them.
- If you feel you need extra support, speak to an adult you trust. This could be a relative, friend, teacher or your doctor.
