This Christmas, cancer is tearing families apart.
Get your gift to us for Christmas and it will be doubled. Every £1 becomes £2, helping your support go twice as far for families facing cancer.
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Last Christmas, Jenson was spending his ninth week in hospital after emergency surgery to remove a brain tumour.
Cancer treatment had left him unable to walk, talk or swallow. He was so unwell he couldn’t leave the ward, spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in hospital with his family desperately trying to stay by his side.
But staying close came at a huge cost. At one point, Jenson’s family were paying £900 a week for accommodation near the hospital.
No parent should have to choose between financial hardship and being with their child during cancer treatment. That’s why our Homes From Home exist: to offer free, private accommodation for children with cancer and their families.
Your donation can help families like Jenson’s stay together when they need each other most.
This Christmas, your donation can go twice as far. Every £1 donated to our Winter Appeal before Christmas will be matched by a fund created by a generous donor, until the match fund is fully used.
For more information, please visit the terms and conditions page.
How prevalent is cancer in children?
Although survival rates are over 80%, cancer remains the single largest cause of death from disease in children and young people in the UK.
12 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer every day, and it remains the biggest killer by disease for this age group.
Why is cancer in children different from cancer in adults?
Children and young people with cancer need special treatment because their cancer is different to adults’ and it can only be treated in certain hospitals, many miles from home. 71% of young people and families say they are struggling to meet the costs of travelling to treatment. Our Homes from Home give families a place to stay, free of charge, near key hospitals while their loved one undergoes treatment.
For families facing cancer, a Home from Home is more than a free place to stay. It’s a place that feels like home. It’s having the time for a home-cooked meal together or a mug of hot chocolate with a bedtime story. But most of all, when everything else is uncertain, it’s a chance to just be together.
Cancer doesn’t have to mean families are torn apart. That special moments are lost. You can help keep families together.
What Young Lives vs Cancer Do
Today, 12 children and young people will hear the news that they have cancer. In an instant, their whole world can feel like it’s turned upside down.
Playtime is stopped. Independence is taken. Confidence is stolen. It can result in years of education missed, careers put on hold just as they’re starting. It’s watching countless opportunities pass by as debt begins to pile up. The impact of cancer on young lives is more than medical. That’s why we exist.
Young Lives vs Cancer is the only charity in the UK with specialist social workers who provide tailored support to children and young people with cancer, and their families. We help them to navigate the emotional and practical impact of cancer. And we stop at nothing to make their voices heard and their unique needs understood, so they can get the right care and support at the right time.
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Campaign for change
We make sure the voices and experiences of young cancer patients, and their families are heard by decision makers.
Campaign for young cancer patients