This website exists to provide support and information for anyone affected by cancer in a teenager or young adult. It contains personal stories written by parents who have accompanied their adolescent/young adult son or daughter along the roller coaster of the cancer journey. Some of the youngsters survived their illness, others did not. New stories can be added and in this way we hope to reduce the isolation many parents say they feel when faced with this most challenging situation.

The site also includes extracts from two books that have resulted from research funded by the George Easton Memorial Trust. Both books were written by Dr Anne Grinyer from Lancaster University and published by OU Press. The first book Cancer in Young Adults: Through Parents’ Eyes (2002) is based on first hand accounts from parents about their experiences of supporting a young adult with cancer. The second book Young People Living with Cancer (2007) discusses what teenage and young adult cancer patients say are of most concern to them about their illness and treatment. Click on Publications to find summaries of the main issues from each book and to see a list of journal articles.

A third book by Dr Anne Grinyer, Life after Cancer in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: The experience of survivorship was published by Routledge in April 2009, and the Trust is now funding a fourth study into life stage issues that affect palliative care decisions for teenagers and young adults.

The George Easton Memorial Trust funds this research in memory of George who died aged 23 from osteosarcoma which was diagnosed when he was a 19 year old student. During his illness George’s parents, Geoff and Helen discovered that there was surprisingly little information available about the immense impact of a cancer diagnosis in a young adult or about the implications of this transitional life stage. Since the Trust was set up in 2000 there has been a huge increase in awareness and facilities for this age group and Trustees are pleased that the work of the Trust and Anne Grinyer’s research has helped in this process.