The Christie Young Oncology Unit Sibling’s Day comes to The Cliff

The day was full of activities for the children, which included relaxation/anxiety management, complimentary therapy and football coaching provided by Foundation staff.

The Young Oncology Unit (Y.O.U) at Christie’s has expanded its services over the last few years to include support groups for siblings aged between 16-24, who are often in need of a lift at a very difficult time.

Lorraine Case, Christie’s Youth Support Coordinator, thinks it’s very important to involve siblings of those who are receiving treatment, ‘This day is a great opportunity for people to sit down and talk about their situations with others. The main aim is to involve the siblings and make sure they aren’t forgotten about and have people like us to help them out whenever they need it.’

This is the third event that has been held in recent years and has proved beneficial to the siblings.  Chloe and Becca from Blackpool who lost their brother/boyfriend Jake to Leukemia in May attended the day and found it had a positive effect, ‘The fun days are great for us as we get to meet different people who are going through the same things as we are,’ said Chloe. ‘We have been helped a lot by the staff at The Christie and they have been fully supportive throughout Jake’s illness.’

The girls have raised £3,000 after taking part in a sky dive for a memorial bench at Jake’s local golf club and intend to raise more funds for the charity.
‘We started off with the sky-dive at 14,000 ft and we intend to raise more money by doing an abseil later this year,’ explained Becca.

The young oncology unit (Y.O.U) provides care for teenagers and young adults, up to 24 years of age, with cancer and related illnesses. It is just one of the UK’s Teenage Cancer Trust units, providing specialist care and facilities for this age group.

The Christie Charity is one of Manchester United’s chosen charities until 2010, raising money for staff and equipment for the young oncolcogy unit.