Young Lives vs Cancer

Young Lives vs Cancer support children and young people (0-25) with cancer and their families.

When a child or young person is diagnosed with cancer, their whole world can feel like it’s falling apart. Playtime is stopped. Independence is taken. Confidence is stolen. Education missed. Careers put on hold. Navigating complex systems just to get basic support as debt begins to pile up. The impact of cancer on young lives is more than medical and felt by the entire family. That’s why we exist.

What we do:

From the moment of diagnosis, our specialist social workers, who work in all the main treatment centres across the UK as part of the care team, provide tailored day-to-day psychosocial support for each child, young person and family – from information and guidance and financial support, to liaising with schools and employers, sorting housing issues, and bereavement support.

We help families to get essential financial support to help face the average £700 of extra costs per month during treatment. We provide Young Lives vs Cancer grants and help them get the benefits and other support they’re entitled to.

Our accommodation centres (Homes from Home), offer families a free place to stay nearby to the hospital to keep families together.

Through extensive research and by campaigning for policy change, we raise awareness of children and young people’s experiences and champion their voices to politicians and decision makers across the UK.