Teenage Cancer Trust

3rd floor
93 Newman Street
London
W1T 3EZ

Tel: 020 7612 0370
Web: www.teenagecancertrust.org

Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) is a charity devoted to improving the lives of teenagers and young adults with cancer.

TCT’s top priority is building units in NHS hospitals specifically for teenagers with cancer. As well as having superior medical facilities, these units are equipped with day rooms, kitchens and chill-out rooms where teenagers can relax and feel at home or have friends and family to visit in a comfortable environment. There are computers with internet access, pool tables, playstations, satellite TV, musical instruments, and other things teenagers might like to occupy their time with, or share with friends. Most importantly, the units provide an environment where teenagers can meet others in a similar situation and allow patients to build friendships and mechanisms to cope with their disease. The hospital staff on these units are devoted to treating teenagers with cancer, and TCT funds activities coordinators in some units to help patients cope with their disease and pass the time in hospital.

To deliver the best possible services for teenagers and young adults with cancer, TCT funds several initiatives including:

• An Education and Awareness team which gives presentations to schools and community groups across the UK designed to raise awareness of the unique problems faced by teenagers fighting cancer.
• TCT's 5th International Conference on Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Medicine is an opportunity for medical professionals working in the field of adolescent cancer to come together and share ideas and information.
• The world's first Professor of Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Medicine, was appointed by TCT in October 2005. TCT funds the Professor and his team, who will initiate and carry out peer reviewed research of the highest international quality and promote clinical excellence in the treatment of adolescent cancer.
• To ensure teenagers have adequate support once they leave hospital, TCT funds the TCT Support Network. It provides one-on-one counselling and organises group counseling and social meetings in London for survivors, family and friends.
• TCT sponsors an annual conference called Find Your Sense of Tumor for 500 cancer-affected teenagers and young adults, to empower them as they fight the debilitating physical and psychological effects of cancer. A full schedule of events is run: complementary therapies, discussion groups, workshops on subjects like relationships and body image and talks by doctors and young people.