Young Northamptonshire cancer survivors invited on sailing adventures

Young people like Nabeel Miah, 18, from Northampton, who was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumours in his appendix in 2020, which led to a number of surgeries on his appendix and bowl. Last summer, he spent four days on a yacht with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust sailing from the Isle of Wight. He joined the charity again this month at Flynne’s Barn in the Lake District.

Nabeel said: “It was lockdown, it was 2020, it was a confusing time. I was having all these scans and didn’t really know why, I was 15 at the time, my mum was confused too. I reached out to a couple of friends and told them the news, then didn’t really think too much of it. The bowel surgery affected me most, I thought it was a small keyhole surgery, but it was a big one, massive.

“I think, there are a lot of people with cancer, and it can affect your mental health. I know it affected mine. When I had cancer and when I had surgery, I always thought I was alone, and I built up a lot of anxiety around meeting new people. When that happens, what you need is support.”

Now, other young people from Northamptonshire who have had cancer are being invited to join the charity this summer for their own free transformational experience.

Even after they are given the all-clear, cancer can impact young people’s lives long into the future. Their mental wellbeing in particular takes a massive hit.

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.

Reflecting the on his previous trips and the difference that the support of the charity has made to his life, he added: “We’re all in this together. We might have different cancers, we might have different stories, but we’ve got to stick together. Coming here, I realised I wasn’t alone. Now I know there are more people like me, I’m happy that we’re all here. It just brings joy.

“Being close together, being a team, it’s like a new family. This gave me the support and the help I needed. It can help you make friends, learn new skills, anything. It’s just amazing.”

Young people aged 8-24 from Northamptonshire can sign up online for some much-needed support with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust this summer.

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.

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.”

If you or someone you know from Northamptonshire could benefit from the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust’s support, visit ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org or email [email protected].