'No one wants a cancer diagnosis but that’s the cards I’ve been dealt' says young cancer survivor

And there are still opportunities for other young people from across Northern Ireland to get onboard this summer as the charity sets sail for 2024.

Primary school teacher Aisling Kennedy, 24, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January. After feeling like she was on her own, she enjoyed the opportunity to relax and try new things.

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust takes young people aged 8-24 on sailing and outdoor adventures to inspire them to believe in a brighter future living through and beyond cancer.

Aisling said: “Initially I was researching different things that were available for young people with cancer. When I thought about it more, I thought I can’t do something like that, it’s completely out of my comfort zone. But then I looked at it from a different view. You don’t expect to get cancer either, so why not?

“This is the first time I’ve done something where there’s been so many young people, where everyone is in the same boat. At home, you maybe see others for about an hour a week, it’s just not the same.

“There are great charities that organise meetups, but I feel that things are more tailored towards either children or much older adults. I feel like I’m in a grey area of not having as much.”

Cancer can have a big impact on a young person’s mental wellbeing beyond treatment, and what happens afterwards can often be as difficult as treatment itself - if not even more so. This is not understood or talked about as much as it should be, leading young people to feel like they are the only one finding life after cancer just as hard.

Once their treatment has finished, they are often left with fewer friends and struggle with relationships, their education suffers, they miss out on work experience, and they develop body image issues. Late effects of being diagnosed young include infertility, extreme fatigue, osteoporosis, thyroid problems, and hearing or vision loss.

Adjusting to this ‘new normal’ can be extremely difficult, which is why when treatment ends, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust’s work begins.

Through the charity’s sailing and outdoor adventures, young people gain a new sense of purpose and self-worth, rediscover their independence, and feel optimistic about what comes next in life. They realise what they are capable of, stop feeling like ‘the only one’, and their mental wellbeing improves.

They start to re-establish their purpose and place in the world and believe in a brighter future.

Reflecting on her experience, she added: “The way I cope with it, I try to live my ordinary life and I know the cancer life is still there, but I like to keep it separate. It was good to let loose this week and combine it into one.

“It was so relaxing. I thought it was just going to be four days talking about cancer, but it wasn’t that at all. It nearly took two days before the conversation of cancer was brought up and when it was, you didn’t have to tiptoe what you were saying. Everyone understood what you were saying, even though we all had different experiences. It was so natural to be able to talk about it and not worry about what you were saying.

“If you don’t put yourself out there, you’re missing out on so many opportunities. No one wants a cancer diagnosis but that’s the cards I’ve been dealt at the minute.”

Founder and Patron of the charity, Dame Ellen MacArthur, said: “We see it time and time again. Young people arrive anxious and isolated. But they leave feeling part of something, accepted, independent, and optimistic.

“We are only able to support as many young people as we do thanks to the players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Because of them, thousands of young lives have been transformed after cancer through life-changing sailing and outdoor activity adventures.

“This summer we will welcome hundreds of young people from right across the UK who need post-treatment support. We will be there for them and they will believe in a brighter future.”

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is there for anyone looking for support, no matter how long off treatment they are. Visit ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org or follow @emctrust on social media.