Young Cancer survivor from Haverfordwest gets post-lockdown lift A 26-year-old from Pembrokeshire, who is living through and beyond cancer, admits “It’s given me a silver lining!” after enjoying five days of sailing from the Isle of Wight with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust last week (13-16 September). Callan Glass was 20 when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. He was among 9 young people from across the UK that spent last week sailing from the Isle of Wight, as the Trust gets back to bringing young people together, having been off the water in 2020. The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust inspires young people aged 8-24 to believe in a brighter future living through and beyond cancer. For many young people, picking up where they left off before their diagnosis isn’t possible. So, when treatment ends, the Trust’s work begins. The isolation, loneliness and anxiety experienced by young people with cancer has been massively amplified by COVID and lockdown. That is why they need the Trust more than ever right now. Callan first sailed with the Trust in 2016. He explains: “The last years been really tough for 18 - Pembrokeshire this Autumn
everyone. Being back at the Trust has been better than I thought it would be, like being able to meet new faces and familiar faces and have that place to de-stress and not worry about the rest of life and just sail on by.” Through the Trust’s sailing and outdoor activities, young people meet others who have had similar experiences - often for the first time, rediscover independence away from home, experience an increased sense of purpose and self-worth, and begin to realise what they are capable of again. Most importantly they stop feeling like the ‘only one’. The young people are inspired to believe in a brighter future as they feel valued, accepted, optimistic and independent. They can start to re-establish their place in the world by getting back into education or employment and reconnecting with their friends and families. Callan adds: “I was diagnosed when I was 20, I was living in London and I was working at the time, so it completely changed my life direction. It’s been a roller-coaster, but I always feel like I’m so privileged because with these charities like the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, it’s turned something really
negative and given me a silver lining, so I really appreciate it.” Dame Ellen MacArthur, the Trust’s Founder and Patron, concludes: “We hear it a lot, that for many young people what happens after treatment can be as difficult as, if not even more so, than the treatment itself. Receiving funding from People’s Postcode Lottery has been a gamechanger in enabling us to reach and have a positive impact on the lives of many hundreds of these young people over the past decade. “We know the impact the Trust has on the mental wellbeing of young people living through and beyond cancer. Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, more and more will get the support they need to believe in a brighter future.” The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust was founded by the record-breaking roundthe-world yachtswoman in 2003. It is there for anyone who is struggling or could simply do with a bit of support, however long off treatment they are. Visit ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org or follow @emctrust on social media.
