- Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust is renamed Project Youth Cancer
- New name, same team, same passion – to support young people with cancer.
- Launch of a new one-on-one counseling service for young people with cancer, delivered where it is needed and helping to reduce waiting times.
Yorkshire based national charity The Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust has become Project Youth Cancer as it positions itself as the UK’s leading support organization for young people living with cancer and officially launches a new advice service across the region to help improve mental wellbeing to contribute in young cancer patients.
Project Youth Cancer was announced today as the charity’s new name ahead of World Cancer Day, which falls on Saturday, April 4thth
February. The rebrand marks the charity’s shift to providing both physical and spiritual support to young people living with cancer across the region, with the launch of a new one-on-one counseling service alongside other services to improve mental wellbeing and reduce wait times.
After celebrating its 25th anniversary last year, the charity team has gone through an extensive branding process with the incredibly generous support of Frank & Alex Brand Strategy, who have given their time and expertise to the charity and this process. The new website was also made available free of charge by Forty4Three supporters. The changes made were the focus of every conversation and every decision with young people with cancer.
The new psychiatric service is now being made available to young people with cancer across Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, with support from the Leeds Building Society, who have made a generous donation to the charity service.
Since its inception in 1996, the charity has helped raise awareness of how cancer behaves differently in adolescents and young adults and that there is a lack of relevant research in this age group. Over the years it has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds to fund specific research projects to enable better diagnosis and treatment.
The charity also supports 47 specialist hospitals across the UK treating teenage cancer by providing support mechanisms such as technology to improve time spent in hospital wards and donates 500 Christmas gifts each year to young people spending Christmas in hospital.
Cancer is the most common form of non-accidental death among teenagers and young adults in the UK. Every day in the UK around seven young people between the ages of 13 and 24 are diagnosed with cancer.
Commenting on the rebranding, Pam Thornes, CEO of Project Youth Cancer said: “We had already shifted our focus to mental wellbeing a few years ago so it felt like a logical step to change the way we were supporting our patients , to completely reassess and see if we could help fill the gap that existed in mental health support.
Charity Ambassador Sarah Dransfield was treated for cancer at the age of sixteen and is passionate about helping other young people “It is important that young people with cancer get the support they need WHEN they need it. We don’t want them to be put on a waiting list, we want to deliver counseling quickly to the point of need, and that’s where Project Youth Cancer comes in. Patients often need this extra support after treatment is complete and “normal”. life returns. Project Youth Cancer will be there for them at this time.”
Looking at waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services in the Yorkshire regions, 50% or over half of those with a referral were still awaiting contact or had only received one contact 12 weeks later (from the additional waiting times of the NHS). CYP 2020-2021). The Youth Cancer project aims to match a young person with a counselor within a few weeks.
Young people with cancer may be able to get support more quickly, but that may depend on where they receive their treatment.
25 years ago, Laura Crane’s mother, the late Jacquie Roeder, set out to do something for young people living with cancer in memory of her fearless daughter, Laura Crane, and started the charity in her name. Laura didn’t let cancer dictate her life, she lived life to the fullest and dedicated her last few weeks to helping others. Laura sadly passed away at the age of just 17 and the charity was founded by her family in her memory. It continues to operate with the same passion and determination as Laura and will continue to do so as Project Youth Cancer.
To mark the renaming, the charity will be showing a film featuring students from Laura Crane’s old college in Huddersfield, Greenhead College, to raise awareness of the name change. The film can be viewed on Project Youth Cancer’s social media pages.
See Project Youth Cancer’s new look here – www.projectyouthcancer.org
