Early days
Teenage Cancer Trust grew out of the dedication and passion of a group of women, which included life president and founder Myrna Whiteson MBE, who fundraised for a children's intensive care heart unit at Guy's Hospital in 1989.
The group met a mother whose 13 year old son had cancer and was being treated both in a children’s ward and alongside older people in an adult oncology ward. Not only was he facing the trauma of cancer and cancer treatment, but he was isolated from other young people going through the same thing.
They set out to provide a ‘teenage environment’ to help young people with cancer and raised the £330,000 needed to fund it. On 22 November 1990, Teenage Cancer Trust’s first specialist cancer unit at the Middlesex Hospital in London was officially opened by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. At that point, the group imagined their work was done.
Myrna said:
We never dreamed back then in the early 90s that Teenage Cancer Trust would become what it is today. We had no great vision of the future at that stage, but just wanted to do something that would make things better for young people experiencing the great burden of cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Teenage Cancer Trust has grown to become a global leader in the field of young cancer care, our pioneering model admired the world over. The lives of thousands of young people have been transformed by specialist care and support by highly experienced experts.
The Teenage Cancer Trust unit in Sheffield felt really welcoming and this made such a difference; the nurses were great and made me feel at home and I met other people who were going through what I was experiencing.
- Julia, diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma
As well as our network of care and support services in hospital units and via hospitals and homes across the UK, our work has grown to include:
- our nationwide education programme to raise awareness of cancer and empower young people to take responsibility for their own health
- Find Your Sense of Tumour, an annual conference for young people with cancer
- The biennial International Conference on Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Medicine for teenage and young adult cancer specialists
- a funding programme for research and the further education of health professionals.
A timeline of our work
1989
- Dr Adrian Whiteson OBE and Myrna Whiteson MBE and volunteers, begin fundraising for the first Teenage Cancer Trust unit, to create a specialist centre of care for teenagers and young adults facing cancer
1990
- The unit opens at the Middlesex Hospital, London
1994
- First International Conference on Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Medicine. This biennial event goes from strength to strength and is now considered one of the world's most significant in the field of teenage and young adult cancer medicine.
1995
- Teenage Cancer Trust’s education programme begins to teach young students about cancer, its signs and treatments as well as giving healthy lifestyle tips. Today the education team visits 100s of schools a year and produces resources for teachers and youth workers to spread awareness of cancer
1996
- Teenage Cancer Trust raises its first million. Last year we raised £16 million to help young people facing cancer in the UK.
1997
- Unit opens at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle
1998
- Unit opens at The Christie Hospital, Manchester
- Unit opens at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds
2000
- Unit opens at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
- We hold our first show at the Royal Albert Hall called “The Who and Friends”. The band are joined onstage by artists including Noel Gallagher, Bryan Adams and Paul Weller, setting in motion one of the biggest annual events in the music and comedy calendar.
2001
- We hold the first Find Your Sense of Tumour weekend conference for young people with cancer. Now in its 14th year, the event provides a mix of inspirational presentations, therapies and social activities, and can often be the first time a young cancer patient meets other young people going through the same thing.
2003
- Units open at:
- Our third annual concert at the Royal Albert Hall sees Coldplay, Eric Clapton, Richard Ashcroft and Madness head up 6 amazing nights of music
2004
- Our first skin cancer prevention campaign is launched
- Teenage Cancer Trust helps to establish Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer (TYAC), a membership organisation for professionals involved in the care of young people with cancer
- We fund and appoint the world’s first Professor of Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Medicine
2005
- Unit opens at University College Hospital, London
- The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) publish the Children’s and Young People’s Improving Outcomes Guidance (CYPIOG) endorsing Teenage Cancer Trust’s philosophy of care as best practice
2006
- Teenage Cancer Trust helps establish the National Cancer Research Institute Teenage and Young Adult Clinical Studies Development Group
2007
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Unit opens at The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow
2008
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New unit opens at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds
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The first Teenage Cancer Trust nurse consultant is appointed. Our nurses are teenage cancer experts, and their job is to make sure young people receive the highest quality of care possible when they’re facing cancer.
2009
- Units opens at:
- The Oasis Day Centre opens at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge
- Teenage Cancer Trust wins the Judge’s Special Award in the Building Better Healthcare Awards for the Skypad unit in Cardiff
2010
- Units open at:
- Our unit in Cardiff receives a highly recognized RIBA award
- The 10th anniversary of Teenage Cancer Trust’s shows at the Royal Albert Hall feature Arctic Monkeys, Noel Gallagher and comedy from Jimmy Carr and Noel Fielding
- Design of the unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital is recognised when architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and Teenage Cancer Trust scoop the Best Interior Design award at the Building Better Health Care Awards
2011
- Units open at:
- The unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital receives a highly recognized RIBA award
2012
- Units open at:
- The Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey
- The Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield
- The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle
- Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge
- The first dedicated outpatient Teenage Cancer Trust unit opens at University College Hospital Cancer Centre
- Leicester Royal Infirmary
- Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
2013
- We pilot an exciting new outreach nursing service in the North West of England. For the first time, our specialist staff can visit young patients having treatment in hospitals that don’t have a Teenage Cancer Trust unit, so those patients can also benefit from the expert care and support we provide.
- Units open at:
2014
- Stephen Sutton, a terminally ill patient treated at our units in Birmingham, raises a phenomenal £5 million for Teenage Cancer Trust, the most an individual has ever raised for the charity. Sadly Stephen dies in May 2014, but leaves behind an incredible legacy through his positivity, determination and courage.
- Unit opens at Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre
