Young peoples’ cancer services team create global impact | News

A Trust initiative that supports terminally ill young people to live well with cancer, was presented at a global conference in Los Angeles.

Merry Gibbons and Kate Silver represented Royal Surrey’s Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Service, at the Teenage Cancer Trust’s ‘Global Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Conference.’

The event brought expert speakers from around the world together to present sector-leading research on cancer care for young people, with the aim of improving treatment around the world.

As the world’s most significant gathering of medical professionals and advocates in adolescent and young adult cancer care, the event offers clinical, allied health, and social care professionals a space to learn from international experts and connect to a worldwide network focused on improving outcomes for young people.

Merry and Kate promoted their programme, 'The Young Peoples Life Cafe: a psychosocial approach to supporting terminally ill young people live well with cancer, whilst preparing for end of life’. 

Inspired by the young people they work with and informed by their thoughts, ideas, and feedback their presentation poster highlighted a need for age-specialist palliative support, not just in the UK, but around the world.

Their insightful work has created global impact, sparking conversations amongst professionals that are being continued via special task groups and service development groups, which they have joined.

Merry and Kate have also been asked to contribute to NHS England's desire for a deeper understanding of what is currently lacking in this area of palliative care, and what is needed to improve future provision so that the UK can lead on world-class treatment for young people with cancer.

Merry Gibbons said:

“It meant a great deal to present our work at the conference. It was the culmination of three years' work after a palliative patient asked ‘What about us? We're not going to get better.’

“The ‘Young People's Life Café’ was created based on the ideas and feedback of our patients and we are excited to be co-leading a special task group to better understand how to support young people towards end of life, and what this could look like.

“We have been invited to feed this learning back to NHS England, who have now recognised this is an under-supported area.”