North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has today sponsored and spoken at a CLIC Sargent Assembly event on the issues impacting children and young people with cancer in Wales.
Mr Isherwood, whose youngest daughter, and the second of his daughters to survive Thyroid Cancer, spoke of her own experience at the event, highlighted that every year in Wales around 170 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer.
He said:
“For young lives, when the doctor says cancer, normal life stops. It is a devastating experience for the whole family. Treatment is often gruelling, can start immediately and be given many miles from home.
“Cancer affects every part of life including school, relationships, confidence, and emotional wellbeing.
“CLIC Sargent plays a key role in providing care and support to the children and young people diagnosed with cancer in Wales each year.
“Last year, they supported 288 children and young people with cancer and their families from Wales, and gave around 290 grants to a value of more than £57,000 to help families deal with the financial impact of cancer.”
Mr Isherwood referred to CLIC Sargent research which found parents spent an average of £600 additional expenses a month during their child’s active treatment and that three in five (61%) parents had accumulated some form of debt as a result of their child’s cancer diagnosis.
He added: “Families also told them that when the worst happened, meeting the costs of their child’s funeral was a significant concern. CLIC Sargent has been campaigning for the UK Government to establish a Children’s Funeral Fund to support families. They welcome the Welsh Government’s recent commitment to waiving children’s burial fees.”
Mr Isherwood also spoke of the need for the Welsh Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) to include cancer patients under 16 years old and highlighted the importance of access to specialist services for teenagers and young adults.
He said: “In order to ensure effective delivery of the Welsh Government’s Cancer Delivery Plan for Teenagers and young adults, it is essential that action is taken to ensure that the recommendation for referral to specialist age appropriate care and support is enforced.
“This is the single most important action that could be taken on behalf of young people with cancer in Wales.”