Our Youth Support Coordinators
Cancer doesn’t just affect you physically – it can have a huge impact on every other part of your life too. Your Youth Support Coordinator is there to help you deal with that impact, and connect with others your age so you don’t feel alone.
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Youth Support Coordinators work alongside our nursing teams to help young people deal with the emotional and practical impact of cancer. Their role is non-medical, so they’re 100% focused on you as an individual, not your diagnosis.
Your Youth Support Coordinator can help you when:
- you’re first diagnosed and need someone to talk you through the support that’s available to you
- you need to let your school, college, university or employer know about your cancer
- you’re dealing with hair loss or changes to how you look
- you don’t have the energy to update friends or family on how treatment’s going
- you have a question about absolutely anything – relationships, fertility, death, even those questions you wouldn’t ask anyone else
- you’re having an especially tough day and just need someone to listen
- you need someone to refer you for extra support e.g. with your mental health
- you’re thinking about returning to work or study and adjusting to life after cancer
And those are just a few examples. In short: they’re your go-to person for anything non-medical that will help you deal with cancer.
They’re also skilled at bringing young people with cancer together to support each other. They make sure our units are a relaxed and welcoming place where young people can bond over TV, games or pizza.
And they run group activities and discussions – online or in person when possible – that encourage young people to open up, share their experiences of cancer with each other, and realise they’re not alone.
My Youth Support Coordinator Rob helped me come to terms with everything - you can’t put a price on that.
