“The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust gives you back a bit of your personality. School was on pause, so my life was just treatment. You go on a trip, have this new experience, learn all different kinds of things and you’re able to share that. Now there was another layer to my life that wasn’t about cancer, it was about silliness and fun. “It gave me hope there is life after cancer, still fun to be had, still enjoyment. This isn’t going to be my world forever. There are still good times. “Because I was a child, I didn’t necessarily recognise the positive changes that were happening to me immediately. It’s something you look back on and realise there has been a profound transformation. I don’t know if I can quantify how the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust has impacted my life now, but there’s no doubt that it has.”
The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, which inspires young people to believe in a brighter future after their treatment ends, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023. Yet, the impact of a cancer diagnosis on a young person’s life is still not talked about enough. Life post-treatment is something that can be as difficult as, if not even more so, than the treatment itself. That is why the charity’s work is vital in creating a community where young people who have had a cancer diagnosis feel they are understood and belong. When Maxine arrived for the very first sailing adventure in 2003, she struggled to say goodbye to her mum, and says they had become co-dependent during her illness. Ellen saw their hesitancy and wondered to herself: “Are we doing the right thing?” Maxine believes her mum had the same worry.
“It was the best decision she could have made, “I met the people at the Trust. I met the other kids. Magic happened. I don’t know how else to explain it. The atmosphere was enjoyment and fun, which was just so lacking in my life. I was in such a depressed state, then suddenly there was joy again.
“The memory of Maxine on that trip remains one of the most vibrant of all the Trust trips I’ve been on. When she arrived, she was so fearful of doing anything. She almost seemed brittle, because she’d had such a horrific operation. I’ll never forget her telling me about it. But as the days went by, she wasn’t brittle anymore. Physically and mentally. It became about what she could do. “The trip was so profound, and I was there from the moment her mum dropped her off to the moment she picked her up. I saw that transformation. It summed up everything the Trust is about, it really did. “It feels like yesterday, but then when I think back to everything the Trust has done since and all those other transformational moments, then I can put it into perspective. Thousands of young people have been through that same transformation since.”
Since 2003, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust has supported 3,137 young people like Maxine. If you can, please donate this Christmas to support more young people to believe in a brighter future at https://www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org/donate/.
