Dame Ellen MacArthur’s cancer charity is asking for your support this Christmas to help even more young survivors get on the water for much needed support in 2025.
The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, which has bases in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight and Largs on Scotland’s west coast, supported 671 young people this year, more than any other year since Dame Ellen set it up in 2003.
Frank Fletcher, the charity’s CEO, said: “It is a really challenging time for all charities. To do what we need to do for young people next summer, we need the support of the sailing community this Christmas. One of the greatest gifts you could give is a young person their future back after they have been through the trauma of cancer and treatment. We can only be there for them next summer and into the future with your help.”
The national charity takes young people aged 8-24 who are living through and beyond cancer on sailing and outdoor adventures to inspire them to believe in a brighter future. Young people like Ben, who was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin lymphoma aged 21 in 2020, which led to six months of chemotherapy.
Now 26 and having sailed with the charity three times, he said: “I didn’t feel like I needed support. I felt like I was coping and had everything under control. But my first trip with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust taught me to talk about my cancer, which helped me mentally and emotionally process the trauma of that time. On my second, I realised there were still more things to process. Then after my third, it was like coming full circle.
“Being surrounded by other young people talking about cancer in a free, darkly humorous, amazing way was a turning point for me. It knocked me sideways because I realised there was still work to be done. I started talking about it again after suppressing it. I replaced the wall I’d built with a bridge.
“Three years ago, I wouldn’t have talked about what appointment I was going to, or when I’d had a bald head. Now, I can say I look good bald, and I’m able to show people a picture from that time.
“I didn’t ever want to be known as Ben, the one who has cancer. I wanted to be known as Ben, who is fun to be around and is achieving things. Without the charity, who I really am would be a guarded secret and there would be a wall hiding me from the outside world.”
Because cancer can have such a big impact on a young person’s mental wellbeing, what happens afterwards can often be as difficult as treatment itself. It can lead to lower educational achievement, difficulties with friendships and relationships, body image issues and late effects such as infertility, extreme fatigue and hearing or vision loss.
For many young survivors, picking up where they left off is impossible, and adjusting to their ‘new normal’ is extremely difficult. That’s why when treatment ends, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust’s work begins. The charity’s sailing and outdoor adventures are a chance for young people to laugh and have fun again. Their optimism returns and their mental wellbeing improves. They stop feeling like ‘the only one’ and gain a new sense of purpose and self-worth.
With your help this Christmas, more young survivors will believe in a brighter future in 2025.
The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is there for anyone looking for support, no matter how long off treatment they are. Visit ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org to donate or sign up for a trip, or follow @emctrust on social media.
