A sensitive subject

My own introduction to Teenage Cancer Trust was through a young man called Ben. Ben was part of a rugby team that I was coaching who we hoped would be future players in the England rugby team. At the age of 14 Ben’s world was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with cancer. During the early stages of Ben’s treatment I visited him in hospital where he was first placed on a children’s ward and then placed on an adult ward. It was obvious that neither wards were suitable for a teenager and it wasn’t until his doctor by chance mentioned to me that Teenage Cancer Trust had opened their first specialist cancer unit in what was then the Middlesex hospital, that I was introduced to the charity.

 

We managed to get Ben transferred to the unit and straight away it made a difference to his outlook and how he dealt with his treatment. During this time Ben mentioned to me how he wished that somebody at school had taught him about cancer and how even young people develop the disease. I spoke to other teenagers who were on the same ward as Ben and asked them if they had ever received a talk from their school and the answers were a resounding ‘no’.

 

Shortly after I approached Teenage Cancer Trust to volunteer for them and it was around this time and out of the blue, I was invited by a head teacher to present a cancer awareness talk. I had never been asked to do something like that before and it made me realise the lack of basic knowledge young people had, not only about cancer, but also about their own health and bodies. After the talk I started to think about whether these talks were something Teenage Cancer Trust should be doing with secondary schools, colleges and universities across the UK on a regular basis. After a discussion the charity’s education strategy was born with myself leading the strategy as a full-time staff member.

 

Educating about cancer

From the outset it was important to make these talks free and to adapt them to every school we went to.  This meant we could deliver an hours talk to a specific class or give an assembly to a whole year group or even offer a whole day of educational activities. The talks included discussions about the different types of cancer, the types of treatments available, the main warning signs of cancer, looking after your health generally and how Teenage Cancer Trust supports teenagers and young people.

As the Teenage Cancer Trust education team grew, our relationships with schools became more established and we were visiting more and more schools, reaching approximately 200,000 pupils and teachers across the UK every year. Although these talks were successful and we were able to de-mystify the myths of cancer, one criticism we received from schools was once we had gone, the teachers were left unsupported. 

They didn’t know enough to answer pupil’s questions and they were unsure how to progress before we were due for our next visit in a year’s time. We needed to create a resource to fill that gap and compliment our existing school visits. A special ‘leave behind’ document would also work for those schools who felt they couldn’t accommodate a personal talk by one of the education team but wanted to still learn about teenage cancer.

Producing the resources

Our first thought was to produce lesson plans but we realised we needed something that fitted into the new national curriculum guidelines for teaching years seven to nine. A film and design agency suggested creating a visual leave behind and agreed to help us put the visual and design content together. The agency recommended we talk to an ex-teacher and owner of a consulting company that has helped create education curriculum materials for a number of government departments and other major organisations, Steve Cushing.

Steve’s involvement was integral to the development of the resource.  Although we knew how we wanted it to look and feel Steve made sure the e-learning resource would fulfil the key stage 3 and 4 national curriculum standards and satisfy English, ICT, PLTS and PSHE teaching requirements. He knew that the resource needed to be something teachers would feel confident in delivering and that would help foster discussion. Steve also reiterated what we had always believed, that when it came to tackling issues like cancer, teachers didn’t really know where to start.  This interactive resource was now becoming a necessity. 

‘Let’s Talk About’

With everyone’s support the ‘Let’s talk about’ campaign was launched and the individual e-learning resource ‘TCT Stuff’, become an interactive teenage magazine.  We involved teenagers in the editing to make sure it appeals to them and is written in language they relate to.  We use interactive film of a teenager suffering from the symptoms of cancer and include commentary by TV presenter and D.J, Dave Berry. A wide range of issues are covered on a range of general topics like how to cope with bullying as well as cancer specific areas, like facts and fiction about cancer, plus who to talk to if they are concerned about their health or a friend’s health.

The resource was officially launched in January 2010 and is the first of its kind available to secondary schools. It is totally free to download and use and the CD-ROM can be shown on school interactive whiteboards and via PC’s and MAC’s. We have already had some great feedback from teachers telling us how pleased they are to have cancer awareness brought into the classroom using a high-tech format that pupils love.

Fifteen years since my very first school talk, our vision for the future has not differed and our plan is to make sure that every student who has left education has received one of our one-hour talks.

About the trust

Teenage Cancer Trust believes that teenagers should not have to stop being teenagers just because they have cancer. We fund and develop specialist teenage cancer units within NHS hospitals which enable young people to be treated together, by an expert team, in the best possible environment. Teenage Cancer Trust focuses on quality of life and aims to improve the chances of survival for young people with cancer. Since the charity’s inception in 1990, Teenage Cancer Trust has opened a total of 14 units and plans to build enough so that, by 2012, every single teenager in the UK can have access to the support they provide. 

To arrange a school visit and talk from Teenage Cancer Trust Education Team email education@teenagecancertrust.org or call 020 7612 0370. ‘TCT Stuff’ is available to download for free from Teenage Cancer Trust’s website, www.teenagecancertrust.org