Jess talks about her childhood cancer battle
A young cancer survivor shared her story as Dame Ellen MacArthur laid out three-year 'ambitions' for her charity.
Jess Beedle, from Wombourne, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma when she was 12 years old and relapsed 11 months later.
She said she found it difficult to come to terms with what was happening to her as she felt too young to understand it fully.
The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is a national charity that supports young people aged eight to 24 by rebuilding their confidence after cancer.
When treatment ends. the trust’s work begins because, for many young people like Jess, picking up where they left off before their diagnosis is not possible.
Building stronger relationships with, and making a greater long-term difference to, more young people in recovery from cancer sit at the heart of the charity’s Better Connections, Bigger Impact – Our Ambitions for 2020-22 scheme.
Jess helped to launch it during an event at the Royal Society of Medicine, in London, on World Cancer Day (FEB 4).
After being introduced by Dame Ellen, who founded the charity in 2003, the latest 'ambitions' were unveiled by young people who had been supported by the trust in recovery, as well as parents, trustees, volunteers and skippers.
Jess, now aged 23, said she felt more able to articulate what she felt at the time of her diagnosis, when she did not appreciate the gravity of what was going on.
“My friends were getting to know themselves and going through phases of dying their hair or whatever," she said.
"But I couldn’t do those things because I had this intense and horrible thing to deal with. It was hard to know who I was.
“I felt quite isolated, had low self-esteem. I was just a bit lost. Even with great family and friend support I kept a lot of things to myself, because I didn’t want to say anything to make them feel even more emotional than they were already.
“In Birmingham, where I was treated, there was a community of young people who had been on trust trips.
"I’d heard it was life-changing but on my first trip I realised I was lucky because not everyone has that community or understands how the trust can help.”
Through sailing and other UK-wide adventure activities, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust aims to support, inspire and empower young people to embrace their future with optimism after treatment for cancer.
Dame Ellen opened the evening by celebrating the trust’s many achievements before looking forward to the future.
She said: “We have achieved a huge amount since 2003. Most notably, by the end of last year, 2,455 young people had been supported in rebuilding their confidence after cancer through the trust.
“We are so proud of the impact the trust has had on so many young lives and but there is still so much more we could be doing.
"Young people we could be supporting. Lives we could be changing. That is what drives our ambitions for 2020 to 2022.
“By the time our 20th anniversary arrives in 2023, we want to know we are more efficient, sustainable and confident in the difference we are making to more young lives than ever before.”
For further information about the trust's work, go to ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org
