Support closer to home
Not all young people with cancer are treated on one of our 28 specialist units. Some choose to have their treatment closer to home, while others may live too far away and be unable to afford travel costs, or to leave their work, studies, children, family or support network behind.
Our outreach nursing and support programme addresses this inequality, helping us reach every young person across the UK who needs us.
There are around 80 designated hospital trusts across England and over 30 local hospitals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where young people can choose to be treated, rather than at the Principal Treatment Centres where our units are based. We’ve focused on developing specially designed areas and facilities for young people within these hospitals.
I didn’t live near a Teenage Cancer Trust unit, but my nurse Lorraine was amazing all through my treatment. I don’t know what I would have done without her!
Our outreach nursing team
Our specialist outreach nurses work regionally across the UK, supporting young people and their families in local hospitals or visiting them at home. Just like the nurses based on our units, they’ll regularly check in to make sure you have all the information and support you need throughout treatment and beyond, and can also arrange for things like blood tests to be done locally, saving you time and travel costs.
And our Multidisciplinary Team Coordinators help to build relationships between staff at designated hospitals and Principal Treatment Centres, making sure young people who’ve been diagnosed with cancer are referred to us in the first place, and improving the data we have about cancer in young people.
We’re determined to reach every young person with cancer in the UK – and to make sure they’re supported by experts in teenage and young adult cancer from the moment they’re diagnosed.