Maybe you’re feeling shocked, or scared, or uncertain, or angry, or sad, or frustrated or even guilty. Maybe you’re embarrassed, or jealous, or lonely, or withdrawn. Maybe you’ve felt all of these things today.

If you have, it’s totally normal. You might find people tell you how important it is to stay positive, but it’s natural to have good days and bad days. No one expects you to wake up happy every day. Sometimes a good cry can make you feel better.

As hard as it might sound, trying to express what you’re going through can help. And while everyone is different, you might also find it useful to:

• Learn more about cancer

• Ask questions if you’re feeling unsure about anything

• Get involved in decisions about your treatment

• Avoid people who make you feel stressed or embarrassed

• Do the things you used to do, if you can

• Get creative with painting, blogging, writing or music

• Get organised with a weekly to-do list

• Watch comedies and hang out with funny friends

• Exercise when you feel up to it

• Have a makeover

• Try something new

• Get plenty of sleep

• Have a daily routine

• Accept help when you need it

• Treat yourself

• Join a support group

Focusing on what helps you cope can really lift your mood and put a smile on your face.

Young People Share their Stories and Advice

Jake's Story: Jake was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in 2019 and had five surgeries in the space of seven weeks. Then the Covid-19 outbreak hit. Making friends with someone going through the same treatment – and who shared his love of Arsenal FC – helped keep him sane.

Hiral's Story - When her condition took a turn for the worse during treatment for leukaemia, Hiral, 21, feared she might not make it through. But with help from her Youth Support Coordinator, Marlies, she found the strength to keep going.

If you have been feeling low for a long time and it affects your everyday life, you might be experiencing depression. Try to tell someone. It’s not easy but pretending you’re ok is exhausting and there is help available to support you through this.

Where can I get help?

Friends, Family and your Medical Team - You could try speaking to friends, family, a partner, a tutor/teacher or someone in the medical team such as a clinical nurse specialist, Youth Support Coordinator, psychologist or counsellor. Try to talk to someone who will listen, be there when you need them, not judge you or try to solve everything, and keep things private if you want them to.

Support Groups There are also support groups for young people who have or have had cancer. A lot of people find it helps to chat to people who’ve been through similar things. Speak to your medical team to find out about local support groups.

Local Services You can ask your GP for a referral to your local talking therapies service or you can google this yourself by typing in ‘talking therapies near (enter your GP’s postcode)’ and there is usually a button to click on to self-refer.

If you feel up to it, exercise can help lift your mood. So can setting small, realistic goals, staying close to people you care about and consciously trying to break the cycle of negative thoughts.

Useful Links

Read our guides on How to ask for help if cancer is affecting your mental health and What to do if you’re struggling to cope

MacMillian Online Community - An online cancer forum with 90,000 members: and they have all been there. Support is available 24 hours a day, in a safe environment.

Young Minds UK charity for children and young people's mental health. They have lots of helpful information and resources.

Maggie's Centres - Maggie’s is a charity providing free cancer support and information in centres across the UK and online.

Stay Alive App -This app is a pocket suicide prevention resource packed full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in crisis.

If things aren't getting better...

If your depression is severe, you could find yourself experiencing suicidal thoughts. If that happens to you, it’s really important to get help. Tell a member of your treatment team, go to A&E or call 999. Samaritans are also always ready to talk 24/7 on 116 123.

Whatever you do, try to remember you’re not alone. There is a huge amount of support available to help you get through this.

It would be strange not to feel anxious when you have cancer. You might find this makes it hard to concentrate and sleep, and you might feel more irritable than usual.

It can help to:

• Learn an effective breathing technique – for example breathing out for two seconds longer than you breathe in for at least five breaths

• Avoid caffeine, alcohol and smoking as these quicken your heart rate

• Do some exercise you enjoy

• Picture images or scenes that make you feel relaxed

• Ask your care team about apps to help with anxiety

If your anxiety is really intense, it might show itself as a panic attack. Common symptoms include a pounding heart, trouble breathing, feeling faint, shaky and sick, and diarrhoea.

Breathing techniques can really help during a panic attack. They help get rid of the adrenaline filling your body and distract you from the thoughts making you panic.

Useful Links

Mental wellbeing, anxiety and isolation: young people's top tips Looking after our mental wellbeing is so important right now, and there are lots of small things you can do to help.

It’s hard not to be affected if cancer changes how you look. Worrying about your appearance doesn’t make you vain or self-obsessed. It just makes you human.

Over time, the way you feel about your body will probably start to improve. In the meantime you could:

• Try a new look. Find your style with a wig, hat or some new clothes.

• Experiment with make-up. Small changes can make you feel very different.

• Hang out with the right people. Good friends make you feel good about yourself.

• Talk about your feelings. Don’t bottle things up. People will only know you’re worried if you tell them.

• Remember you’re still the same. Cancer might change how you look, but it doesn’t change who you are

Being surrounded by people doesn’t always stop you feeling lonely, and there might be times you feel like no one really gets what you’re going through. It’s easy to feel on your own if it seems like you’re growing up faster than your friends or you need to have time off school or work.

It’s a good idea to try and let people know how you’re feeling. It can help to talk to other young people in a similar situation too. Macmillan’s Online Community has discussions for people diagnosed at a young age, and organisations including Youth Cancer Trust also offer free holidays for young people with cancer.

Talking to other young people with cancer can be really helpful

Teenage Cancer Trust's Digital Monthly Meet-ups are a chance for you to meet other young people who have cancer from all over the UK.

We run a session every month and they’re all absolutely free.

For the Under 18s group you can find out more here

For the Over 18s, please click here

It’s totally normal to worry about your cancer coming back after treatment has ended. But it can become a problem if those fears mean you struggle to make plans or enjoy life fully.

People like clinical psychologists and counsellors are not just there for you during treatment. It can really help to talk to them afterwards too. They can suggest ways to manage your anxieties and accept your feelings.

Living with uncertainty is tough, but it does get easier. It’s likely you’ll think about cancer less as time passes.

These aren’t medical terms, but some people say during chemo they get spaced out, struggle to concentrate or find it hard to think clearly. If you feel like this, keep yourself safe – no driving. Putting reminders in your phone or a diary can help. Symptoms tend to improve after chemo too, but talk to your care team if you’re worried.

Cancer can leave you feeling exhausted, so you’d think sleeping would be easy. Sadly it’s not always that simple. Here are some ideas to try if you’re struggling to sleep. 

Have a routine – Go to bed and wake up at the same time so your body knows what to expect.

Relax in the evenings – Watch a film. Listen to music. Do whatever makes you feel calm.

Watch what you drink – Try milk or water rather than coffee, coke, energy drinks or alcohol, which can all affect your sleep.

Exercise – Even a little physical activity can help you feel ready for sleep.

Write down difficult thoughts – rather than lying awake going over them again and again

Switch off – Leave your phone in another room and make your bedroom just for sleeping

Give up easily – If you can’t sleep after 20 minutes, read or listen to music to relax then try again.

Talk to friend or adult that you trust, you might be wondering what's next for you. Anyone in your care team that you trust is able to support you.

• Sometimes making a list of questions for your care team can be useful. Think about what you would like to know now rather than focusing on the time you have.

• Speak to your care team about local organisations that can offer extra support and/or activities you can take part in.

• If you're receiving end-of-life care, talk through your options with your care team. For example you may prefer to be at home, stay in hospital or a hospice. Your family and friends may have their own opinions but remember that what you want matters too.

Useful Links

Teenage Cancer Trust - What happens when cancer treatment stops working? .There’s no right or wrong way to react. Here we through some of the emotions that young people have told us you might feel, decisions you might want to make and the care you might have.

MacMillian - If You Have Advanced Cancer - Practical information and advice on managing when cancer has become advanced.