foundation
THE INVESTOR
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‘I had six rounds of chemo and two weeks of radiotherapy in
my first round of treatment. It made me horrifically ill. I had to be
admitted to hospital as I lost so much weight and by the end of my
treatment I was practically immobile from tiredness and peripheral
neuropathy in my legs, which is like a temporary form of nerve
damage from chemo. It was incredibly painful.
‘When I relapsed I had more chemo, which
gave me more infections and made me drowsy.
I also had a stem cell transplant, which gave me
horrible mucositis and I couldn’t eat for two
weeks because of the pain and sickness.
‘When I was on treatment, on my transplant
particularly, I used to feel so hopeless.Teenage
CancerTrust never made me feel like I had to be
brave.They understand that we’re young, that
we can’t be brave all the time.They made it so
much easier to cope with everything.
‘The first time I was diagnosed before the relapse I was treated on
a children’s ward. Even though the staff were lovely, I was surrounded
by little kids and never met anyone my own age. It was difficult for me
to cope as I felt like no one understood what I was going through.
‘As soon as I was transferred to theTeenage Cancer Trust ward I
met other young people with the same illness as me, going through the
same things. No one my age had wanted to talk about cancer, not even
my friends – it’s an uncomfortable topic – but on the ward there were
all these young people wanting to talk about it. It was wonderful and
the staff really are the most amazing people.
‘There was also always something to do to
pass the time, like play computer games and
pool, watch films, go on the internet and do
arts and crafts. I’ve now finished treatment and
as for my hopes for the future, I don’t know
really. I could do anything, go anywhere. I have
taken a year out of my studies at sixth form as
I am too tired to go in every day. Cancer
changed a lot of the plans I had for my future.
‘I just want to make the most of the third
chance I have been given and Teenage Cancer
Trust are a large part of why I am still around.’
The St. James’s Place Foundation is proud to support Teenage
CancerTrust. For further information, visit
and
Teenage Cancer Trust
understand that
we’re young, that
we can’t be brave all
the time
Having someone to talk to and share
experiences with can be a help
Stephen Sutton’s story helped raise
£5 million for the charity
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