Education

For most teenagers and young adults the first time they hear the word “cancer” is when someone in their family, often an older relative, is diagnosed. So when met with their own cancer diagnosis they inevitably assume the very worst.

Empowering young people through education

It's important that young people are provided with information about how cancer could affect them or those close to them to help them deal better with the situation.

Our education talks explain what it's like to have cancer and answer any questions students might have. We talk about how to spot the early signs of cancer and provide the kind of information that will empower young people to push for a swift diagnosis should they ever have cause for concern. We also give healthy living advice and encourage young people to make positive choices about their diet and exercise to improve their health and reduce the risk of cancer.

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Free information

Our Education team run a pioneering programme providing free information, education and advice about cancer, prevention and healthy living that reaches around 130,000 students and teachers across the UK each year.

We've recently developed a fully interactive learning resource which places cancer within the context of day to day teen life and provides information about facts and fiction and who to talk to regarding the issue of cancer. This resource is free to download here

We visit schools, clubs, and associations

We visit schools, colleges, universities, clubs, societies and associations all over the UK. This is a unique offering that no other charity provides. Its totally FREE with no strings attached.

Top 20 cancer myths

Young people (aged 13–24) believe toilet seats, being fat, kissing and a kick in the testicles can all give you cancer, according to research from Teenage Cancer Trust.

Our survey identified that eating coloured jelly babies, living near electricity pylons and keeping a mobile phone in your bra, as actions young people incorrectly believe give you cancer. Below are some more cancer myths:

• 53% believe we are all born with the cancer gene
• 37% believe you're never really cured of cancer
• 36% believe mobile phones cause brain tumours
• 35% believe living near electricity pylons gives you cancer
• 22% believe the colour of your skin determines your cancer risks
• 22% believe having cancer makes your hair fall out
• 20% believe eating red meat gives you cancer
• 19% believe if you have cancer when pregnant your baby will get it
• 15% believe keeping a mobile phone in your bra gives you breast cancer
• 12% believe getting kicked in the testicles gives you testicular cancer
• 12% believe if you don’t inhale when smoking you won’t get cancer

Find out more about our sun safety survey's here

Better education for young people is needed and Teenage Cancer Trust's Education & Advocacy team provide just that, completely FREE of charge.

News

Find out what's been happening across the UK with Teenage Cancer Trust's Education Team.

University of Manchester Start of Year Fair

Teenage Cancer Trust Education & Advocacy team from the North, Teenage Cancer Trust funded staff from the North West, The Christie and the University of Manchester, as well as patients of the Teenage Cancer Trust Unit at The Christie, attended the University of Manchester ‘Start of Year’ Fair during the week of 19 September.

Over 9,000 students attended the fair and it seemed as if the majority of these came to visit our stand!

Information about symptoms of Teenage and Young Adult cancers was given out to students and we distributed questionnaires to assess knowledge of common symptoms of cancer in the Teenage and Young Adult population.

A first year student at the University, 19 year old Emilie Milton Stevens, was the lucky winner of a £70 meal voucher for Gusto Restaurant in Didsbury who generously supported the event. Emilie recognised that weight loss can be a sign of cancer, that boys can get breast cancer, that using sunbeds increases your risk of skin cancer in later life and that, in the UK, 6 young people a day find out that they have cancer.

Implementing the Cancer Strategy in Dorset

On 23 September, Lindsay Wilson, Education and Advocacy Manager for Teenage Cancer Trust, teamed up with Emma Willis from Shine support group to present at a conference in Dorset. The conference focused on implementing the cancer strategy in Dorset and was attended by professionals from across the county as well as Professor Sir Mike Richards (National Clinical Director for Cancer at the Department of Health).

Lindsay and Emma teamed up to talk about education through the patient experience. Lindsay highlighted the work of Teenage Cancer Trust’s free education programme and how as an ex patient she uses her personal experience to make the subject more real. She spoke of doing this not just by talking about the ‘ cancer’ issues, but using examples of how other everyday life activities are still just as important and that you can still be a young person despite a cancer diagnosis. By educating the next generation and helping them to understand the impact of cancer and the importance of being aware of their own health responsibilities, Lindsay explained that Teenage Cancer Trust aim to remove the myths and stigma associated with cancer.

Hollywood in Haybridge!

In July 2011 Adam Johnson was invited to man an awareness stand at Haybridge High School in Worcestershire. The school have chosen Teenage Cancer Trust as one of their charities of the year and wanted to raise awareness of our work amongst the pupils. The theme for the day was Hollywood and everyone was in fancy dress, including the teachers. They had lots of stalls selling cakes, popcorn, lemonade and even a golf putting game with all the profits coming to Teenage cancer Trust. Individuals were also raising money by having a sponsored wax, and a pantomime horse even did a sponsored trot around the sports field! It was a fantastic day, however Adam probably would have thought twice about accepting the booking if he had realised he was expected to dress up. The things we do in the name of Teenage Cancer Trust!

Shunburn in South Tyneside

On 3 August Gary Doig visited a residential children’s care home in South Tyneside. The manager there wanted the young people to know about the risks of sun damage so Gary talked to them for over an hour about our Shunburn campaign. There was lively debate about the results of the survey and we talked about their attitude to sun safety. Despite being just a small group it was a really interesting session that Gary personally gained a lot from. Elaine Taylor, the deputy centre manager said, ‘Following Gary’s talk the gang have spoken about keeping themselves safe in the sun and the importance of checking their bits! Thanks again.’

Your Turn in Rotherham

On Wednesday 6 July Adam and Kelly attended a Your Turn event in Rotherham. Your Turn runs in South and West Yorkshire, London and extensively in Scotland, to promote community with young people and adults. The courses run with young people introduce them to issues of justice, rights and community leaders whilst encouraging them to mix with students from other schools.

Five schools in Rotherham participated in the event and sent five year nine students each. Teenage Cancer Trust have been involved with this event for many years and is used to raise awareness in the students of issues that can affect people in their communities. Kelly gave a one hour cancer awareness presentation and the students were then asked to work in mixed groups to design a poster campaign about the charity. Alongside the campaign, they were given Starburst sweets to represent money and had to buy and sell shares on the stock market to buy resources for their poster. All of the students produced fantastic posters and had great fun buying and selling shares in ‘Euro Disney’ and ‘DFS’. At the end of the session, the groups had to present their posters and were awarded prizes for most money earned and best presentation. Adam and Kelly stayed to answer questions and assist in the campaign work. A great afternoon and a fantastic project.

Teenage Cancer Trust visits the Isle of Benbecula

Teenage Cancer Trust visited Sgoil Lionacleit on the Isle of Benbecula on Thursday 30 June to present awards at the school’s annual prize giving. Former pupil Iona MacMillan and now Teenage Cancer Trust’s Education and Advocacy Manager for Scotland and Northern Ireland, attended the prize giving alongside head teacher Miller Macdonald, and afterwards gave a short talk to pupils giving them an insight into the world of work away from the island.

This is the second visit Iona has made to the school this year as S3 and S4 students received a free talk in February about teenage cancer and how it may affect them or those close to them.

The talk was aimed at raising awareness of cancer in young people, encouraging prevention and promoting healthy living. Every day six young people across the UK are diagnosed with cancer. Iona MacMillan, comments: “It was a pleasure to come back to the school and be part of their annual prize giving. It was also a perfect opportunity for me to talk about what life is like after education and the work I do for Teenage Cancer Trust.

“The school has been incredibly supportive of my job, allowing me to visit the school to talk about teenage cancer and help educate pupils and teachers about teenage cancer. Our aim for the future is to ensure that every student who leaves education has received one of our free cancer awareness talks.”

Teenage Cancer Trust Education & Advocacy team goes to the USA!

In June we were fortunate enough to go to Memphis, Tennessee to attend and present at an international conference, Cure4kids: Global Summit.

The conference was organised by the St Jude Children’s hospital and was titled Advancing Cancer Education and Healthy Living in our Communities. The conference was an ideal platform for our education programme to be displayed and discussed with many other organisations from across the world who deliver similar programmes to ours, and it was a good opportunity to share ideas and best practice.

The aim of the three day conference was to improve health and science education in classrooms and communities around the world. The first day provided a research forum focusing on methodologies for evaluating education programmes. The second day included panels and keynote speakers to discuss local and global successes and challenges in education and health. The final day offered workshops and group discussions.

Teenage Cancer Trust was fortunate enough to be able to present on the second day and was able to discuss the work that we do in schools to educate about cancer and how it affects young people. We discussed the ways in which we deliver the programme in schools, discussing the class-room based presentations, the lesson plans and the learning resource as well as the patient referral programme.

The conference allowed not only for the people attending the conference to participate but also allowed people from all over the world to tune in online, which created further opportunities to discuss cancer education in schools and to share ideas. There were representatives from a variety of professions including teachers, health professionals, public health educators, community health service groups and students from a variety of fields.

Teenage Cancer Trust Education & Advocacy programme was very well received at the conference and as a result has opened opportunities for us to discuss our work further with other leading cancer organisations. The conference highlighted that the programme we provide in schools is invaluable and that the way in which we deliver the presentation is effective and appropriate to the young people we speak to.

Hair and Fashion at Ystrad Mynach College

After receiving an Education and Awareness presentation from Teenage Cancer Trust’s Education & Advocacy Manager, Simon Hewett-Avison, Ystrad Mynach College in South Wales were inspired and decided to choose Teenage Cancer Trust as the beneficiary from their fantastic hair and fashion show. The show had a sustainability and healthy living theme and raised a massive £1127.98!

Their show was so highly received that they have been selected to showcase their hair and fashion show at the World Skills event in London on 7 October. There should be around 100,000 people at the event and they have asked us if we would like to be involved again and support them as a charity partner. Thank you Ystrad Mynach College!

The Way Forward Weekend, North Yorkshire

On 15 April, Teenage Cancer Trust took 15 young people to Low Mill Outdoors Centre in North Yorkshire for the opportunity to discuss their views of survivorship support services as well as take part in a range of outdoor activities including canoeing, archery and climbing. The weekend was a great success and brought young people together from Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester!

Teenage Cancer Trust also got a lot out of the weekend as the young people shared their experiences of what, if any, support services were available to them outside of the hospital environment, and what support they could have benefitted from.

The next weekend we have planned is for 27 - 29 May 2011. We still have a few places available for young people who are over 18 years old and off treatment. If you are interested in participating, please contact Mary Kunnenkeril

St Leonard’s School in St Andrews learn about Cancer

Pupils at St Leonards have been finding out about some of the issues surrounding cancer in young people.

Iona MacMillan from the Teenage Cancer Trust visited the School on the 10 May to speak to the students about how cancer can affect them, or those close to them, so that they are better prepared to deal with such a situation.

The students learned of the warning signs they should look out for, the importance of a swift diagnosis, different treatments and the benefits of healthy living in reducing the risks. They also found out more about the work of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Iona, who is Education and Advocacy Manager, Scotland and Northern Ireland, said, “Cancer is very much like a taboo subject. We try to remove the stigma and raise awareness that it can happen to young people.

“Teenagers are not the most self confident so we encourage them to be aware of their own bodies and speak up if they have concerns as the outcomes are much better with early diagnosis.

“The pupils were interested in the subject and asked a lot of good questions.”

Testimonials

Here's what pupils and teachers have to say about our awareness raising presentations...

"The students found the presentation really interesting. It has much greater impact when delivered by someone from the Trust who not only has excellent knowledge, but who can bring the topic to life with real examples of the work of the Trust. As a teacher I would not be able to do this in a way that would be anywhere near as effective. Kelly Scott has a very user friendly way with the students, she has them engaged from the minute she walks in, they can relate to her and she leaves them wanting to know more and tell others about what they have experienced. This is what learning is all about and in terms of raising awareness of the work of the Trust and of the need to take care of health – what better way is there?”
Feedback from a teacher

“Our students thoroughly enjoyed your lesson and we have received some very positive feedback. Students have stated that they feel like they have received a valuable insight into your organisation, and were given information into a subject area that they did not know much about at all. One student who has recently received treatment in hospital stated that he was surprised to learn from you that your organisation funded the building of the ward he actually stayed on. I think that when students make connection like that, it can be so much more powerful than anything else we can deliver in school.”
Feedback from a teacher

"I have found the session to be interesting and informative. It was fantastic that the students felt able to ask questions in an unthreatening environment"
Mrs J Sanderson, Ashington High School

"The talk was excellent, informative, thought provoking and extremely valuable. Students were engaged throughout, the personal angle and elements of humour managed to make this difficult topic accessible for all."
Mr A Hedley, Queen Elizabeth High School, Hexham

"We would love to have you back to speak to the students again and after your last talk we are putting on a Cancer Prevention Week so would like you speak as part of that."
Teacher, King Edwards School in Bath, Somerset

“I thought the talk was very touching. It was pitched just at the right level, giving information without being overly dramatic. My students responded to the way the talk was given. Even the ones who can sometimes be disruptive listened and said they’d learned something helpful.”
Comment from a student from Bridwater College, Somerset

“I think the Teenage Cancer Trust’s work is amazing. I didn’t know about them before, I think we should support them in the future” (student)
Comment from a student from Bridwater College, Somerset

“Students need to hear not only the horror stories but how to keep themselves safe and protect themselves. I thought the talk focussed on the positive aspects of young people taking responsibility for their own health in a really helpful manner”
Comment a from teacher at Bridwater College, Somerset

“The presenter had the difficult task of engaging two classes of S3 pupils in a hot, stuffy room immediately after lunch. The fact that the pupils were attentive throughout , that there were absolutely no discipline issues and that you could hear a pin drop during the presentation, all of that is testament to the presenter’s skills and her perfect delivery. It is rare to hear someone who so understands school children and can talk to them on their level whilst at the same time being an adult and an expert. Top marks for this presenter!”
Teacher, Dalkeith Academy

Simon Hewett-Avison recently spoke to Year 1 Childcare students in North Devon. Here is what some students said:

"I thought it was good and I'm glad I was there as some of the statistics really hit home. I feel I know a lot more about cancer and I definitely want to raise some money to support the charity"

"9/10 very effective and hard hitting especially since 6 teenagers are diagnosed every day!"

Hello Mr Johnson,
I know I contacted you earlier this year to say 'thank you' for the excellent talk you gave to our year 10 students, but I just wanted to let you know of a situation that has just come to light.

A boy who has, un-beknown to anyone, been worried about a testicular lump for the last two years has decided to tell his mum and that was because he listened to your talk and decided to act upon your advice and finally drum up the courage to have it checked out. The worry over the last two years has been adversely affecting his school work, (unsurprisingly!) and now that weight of worry has been removed and he feels so much better for it. I believe his diagnosis was not bad news. Many thanks, again, for your support and I do hope you will do another talk next year!
Teacher, Dormston School

Dear Iona,
Thank you for coming to speak to our S5 and S6 pupils. This is the first time for them that a whole lesson has been devoted to the topic of Teenage Cancer. Your presentation was very informative and delivered in a very friendly and professional way. You held the attention of our pupils and have given them information which may well save their lives.
Teacher, Torry Academy

We learned a lot about cancer which we think is very important to know for example the symptoms and the treatments. We also think it was very interesting to learn about other peoples stories which made us realise cancer is a serious issue.
S4 pupils, Loudoun Academy

Excellent – dealt with stereotypes, gave pupils the option to take a breather if it was too much/personal, made sure pupils didn’t panic about getting cancer but made aware of possible symptoms. Very clear and focused, and pitched at the right level.
Teacher, Galashiels Academy

Nigel,
Me and my friends just wanted to write a quick note to you, to let you know that your talk tonight was incredibly inspirational.

Although many of us thought we knew about cancer, in fact there was much we didn't know and it was great to have someone who really knew what he was talking about.

Your story was a clever way to teach us about teenage cancer, and afterwards everyone was saying how moving yet eye-opening it was to listen to your talk. Many of our friends have said that they would love to volunteer in the future and support the teenage cancer trust.

Also we think many of the people in our year could relate to your talk, as similar circumstances have happened to a few, and some people did not know teenage cancer was so common. Again thank you so much.
Pupil from Marlborough College

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