Helen Pearson, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in solid tumours, researcher and CCLG member, explains how the findings of a study have helped co-design an important new web resource to support families.
Charlotte Hillyard’s daughter, Jess, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in May 2023 aged three. Knowing the importance of peer-to-peer support, Charlotte and her husband, Lee, set up Walking Warriors Essex earlier this year to bring together families of children with cancer to share their feelings and experiences.
Sophie Hartley was eight years old when diagnosed with bone cancer in 2005. Now 27, she explains how this affected the relationship she has with herself.
The relationship between oncologists and parents of children with cancer can be complex and unique, with each family having differing needs. Dr Ren Manias, Consultant Paediatric Oncologist at Southampton General Hospital and Contact's medical adviser, tells us how open and honest communication between doctors and parents is key to developing trust and understanding, and why this is important.
Skin cancer (melanoma) in teenagers and young adults (TYA) is on the increase and evidence from young people and their families suggest that they feel isolated, alone and unsupported.
Dr Sarah Evans, Head of Research at CCLG, describes what patient and public involvement (PPI) involves. PPI is about researchers and those who fund research teaming up with people who have personal experience with a health condition. This collaboration helps make sure that research focuses on what really matters to the people it’s meant to help, like patients and their families.
Claire Bailey's daughter, Poppy, was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma in July 2020 aged four. She writes on how the relationships she’s formed with other families have provided support both during and after Poppy’s treatment.
Penelope Hart-Spencer is a Health Play Specialist at the Proton Beam Therapy Centre at the Christie in Manchester and a member of the CCLG. In this role, she supports children undergoing cancer treatment who require CT/MRI scans, radiotherapy and proton beam therapy treatments, as well as other clinical procedures.
Following a childhood cancer diagnosis, parents may find relationships with those around them change, while they may also develop a number of new relationships during their child’s treatment. Here, Dr Amandeep Samrai, Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Paediatric Oncology at Nottingham Children’s Hospital, talks about how relationships can be both helpful and challenging during childhood cancer treatment.
