Young cancer survivors benefit from RS Association's support of Dame Ellen MacArthur's charity
by Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust 28 Nov 2023 10:42 EST
Noble Marine Rooster RS200 Nationals event © Steve Fraser
Young cancer survivors supported by the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust have benefited from the RS Association's dedicated fundraising support throughout the year, raising over £2,700 across numerous events in 2023.
At Mounts Bay Sailing Club, the Noble Marine Rooster RS400 Nationals event held a raffle for participants and guests to raise money, and those in attendance heard more about Dame Ellen MacArthur's inspirational cancer charity from one of its volunteers.
A raffle was also held at East Lothian Yacht Club during the Noble Marine Rooster RS200 Nationals event, and at the Salcombe Gin RS Summer Regatta and Ball at Hayling Island Sailing Club.
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.
Ella Rowlinson, the charity's Community & Individuals Fundraiser, said: "Thank you to everyone at the RS Association for all of their successful fundraising across the year, we are thrilled to have their support. Each event had such generous donations, together raising £2,772, which will have a real impact on our work with young people after their treatment ends."
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.
Cancer in young people often leads to lower educational achievement, relationship and friendship difficulties, body image issues, and/or ongoing late effects, such as extreme fatigue, infertility, osteoporosis, thyroid problems and hearing or vision loss.
For many young people simply picking up where they left off before their diagnosis just isn't possible. That is why when treatment ends, the Trust's work begins.
Through the Trust's sailing and outdoor adventures, young people laugh, gain a new sense of purpose and self-worth, rediscover independence, and feel optimism for the future. They realise what they are capable of and stop feeling like 'the only one'. They start to re-establish their purpose and place in the world and 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: www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org