NEWCASTLE FALCONS HELP TACKLE TEENAGE CANCER
The club and the UK’s only charity dedicated to improving the quality of life and chances of survival for young people with cancer, have been working together over the past year with the five figure sum being the result of that endeavor.
The partnership began in May 2013 when the Falcons proudly wore the charity’s logo on their match shirts in the RFU Championship play offs and has gone on to include a wide variety of fundraising events and challenges.
The grandest took place in August last year when academy manager and head coach Mark Laycock and James Ponton ran the length of the coast to coast walk in 18 hours and 41 minutes. Other events included a Firewalk at Kingston Park in November, a Zip Slide challenge from the Tyne Bridge and match day collections.
In addition, the charity has continued to feature on the right sleeve of Falcons match day shirts, with their logo seen on live TV games, highlights and press photography.
Away from events, a number of first team players visited patients on the Teenage Cancer Trust ward at The Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle. This ten bed unit supports 13-19 year olds and is one of 28 specialist wards in NHS hospitals that Teenage Cancer Trust has built and funded across the UK.
Teenage Cancer Trust also provides dedicated staff, bringing young people together so they can be treated by teenage cancer experts in the best place for them. Traditionally treated alongside children or elderly patients at the end of their lives, young people can as a result, feel extremely isolated with some never meeting another young person with cancer.
Being treated alongside others their own age can make a huge difference to their whole experience and Teenage Cancer Trust wants every young person with cancer to have access to this specialist support, no matter where they live.
Teenage Cancer Trust also educates young people and health professionals about cancer to help improve the speed and quality of diagnosis. Cancer in young people is rare but Teenage Cancer Trust wants young people to know the common signs so they can seek medical advice if they are worried.
Zoe Hull, Regional Fundraiser for Teenage Cancer Trust said: “To raise over £11,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust is absolutely fantastic and will help transform the lives of so many young people with cancer. We’re not a large charity and rely on donations, so we’re enormously grateful to the Newcastle Falcons.”
We would like to thank Teenage Cancer Trust for their hard work and wish them luck with all of their future fundraising and campaigns.
