Youth Advisory Group

The group is made up of approximately 30 young people who have been diagnosed with cancer, or had cancer treatment. They all joined because they wanted to make a difference for young people like themselves.  

It is vital to listen, learn and be advised by experts who know what it is like to be a young person dealing cancer and cancer treatment. They don’t just tell us what they think – they directly shape the support we provide to young people.  

These young people are involved in critical activities, such as helping recruit members of our Senior Leadership Team, creating our strategy and shaping our policy work. And that’s on top of things like helping us engage with more young people, develop peer support projects and helping to make our services even better across the UK.  

Membership of Youth Advisory Group also provides opportunities for developing new skills and confidence as part of a supportive group of young people who can use their similarities and different experiences to advise the charity and ensure that we are being as inclusive as possible.  

In addition, being part of the Youth Advisory Group means young people get to develop their teamwork, communication and creative skills by coming up with ideas, giving feedback and working alongside different people from Teenage Cancer Trust including our Chief Executive, Senior Leadership Team and colleagues from across the charity.  

The group is made up of young people who:   

• were diagnosed with cancer or had cancer treatment between the ages of 13-24 years old*     

• have finished treatment within the last two years (including those on maintenance treatment) 

• are well enough to engage with meetings - mainly online with some in-person opportunities which are not compulsory  

*Under 18s need consent from a parent or guardian to take part, and they will need to be accompanied to any in-person events  

The role lasts for two years – the current group will run from January 2025 to December 2026.   

There will be lots of different things the group gets involved with during their time on YAG, including:   

• opportunities to meet online monthly, either to contribute to projects from different teams across the organisation or for a social   

• a minimum of one in-person residential meeting during their two-year membership of the group*  

• working with senior members of staff to give ideas, insights and feedback on the work we’re doing and how we can better support young people with cancer. For example, attending Senior Leadership and Board of Trustees meetings   

• the opportunity to get a close insight of the inner workings of the organisation and we will provide training to make sure you can maximise these opportunities  

 *Teenage Cancer Trust will always pay for any travel and accommodation needed to make sure these opportunities are equally available to all members  

We can’t predict exactly what tasks, topics and opportunities the group will have during their time together, but previous projects have included:  

• Involvement in Teenage Cancer Trust’s strategy  

• Development work on Teenage Cancer Trust’s core values: DETERMINED, UNITED, SPIRITED, KIND  

• Involvement in recruitment of senior staff at Teenage Cancer Trust  

• Short term project work in small groups with external partners  

• Involvement in our Safeguarding Review  

• Presentations at our Staff Days  

• Feeding into our Annual Report  

• Presentation and feedback to our Board of Trustees  

• Being a supportive member of a motivated and inclusive group who achieve great things