Treating Children with Cancer (TCWC) was established in 2009 to provide support to those affected by the disease, helping children and their families navigate the various challenges faced on their cancer journey.

Based in Huddersfield West Yorkshire, we operate throughout the UK and were founded upon a commitment to promote and protect the physical and mental health of those directly and indirectly impacted by cancer and to relieve sickness by assisting research into the nature, causes, diagnosis and prevention of the disease.

Throughout the years we have worked extensively with young people whose lives have been profoundly changed by their cancer diagnosis. Our focus is on helping children throughout their treatment igniting their imagination through play entertainment and leisure activity, bringing joy and motivation through gifts on special occasions like birthdays and Christmas and ensuring they’re able to spend as much time as possible with their loved ones through financial support, such as for accommodation, transport and living costs.

Over the years we have collaborated on a number of projects to support the NHS in its provision of services for children. For example, in 2017 the Child Oncology Room Project at Luton & Dunstable University Hospital was launched. The aim of the project was to benefit in-patient children who are being treated in isolation due to a high risk of infection. TCWC helped raise money to transform the rooms into private, comfortable and colorful spaces. These are complemented by temperature control with sensitive lighting and various entertainment systems.

We also partnered with the charity CLIC Sargent (now known as Young Lives vs Cancer) to support our fantastic social workers throughout the country. We have now worked together for many years. TCWC is a generous supporter of Young Lives vs. Cancer’s work and we have together provided more than 40 families with a range of tailored support across the UK. This included around 305 hours of emotional, financial and practical support for young cancer patients and their families following diagnosis. Money raised by TCWC has also provided 57 opportunities for our Young Lives vs. Cancer affiliated nurses to teach parents and careers about the disease, medicines, treatment, and side effects.

TCWC also regularly funds research looking at the causes of brain tumour in children who have developed cancer. It is hoped that a focus on translational research will result in new clinical trials that will in the future increase the chance of a cure. Similarly, we help fund Christie’s which is an international leader in cancer research and development, supporting a range of projects including those looking at genetic causes of childhood cancer, mechanisms underlying drug resistance, novel therapeutic approaches to cancer treatment, and psychosocial effects of treatment

We have also focused our attention on the high-risk and aggressive cancer, neuroblastoma.It typically affects children under five years old and requires lengthy treatment that severely affects their quality of life. Sadly many children despite the sacrifices they make to undergo the treatment will eventually die from the disease. Thanks to your support we have worked with Action Medical Research for Children to fund innovative research which uses a patient’s own immune system to target the cancer cells. This new approach aims to be more effective, save lives and reduce the devastating side effects that blight the short lives of the young children affected.

TCWC is also proud to be working with Dr. Francis Mussai, whose pioneering research at the University of Birmingham where he is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Oncology in the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy has led to breakthroughs in the fight against leukaemia. More recently Dr. Mussai who is also an Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Oncology at Birmingham Children’s Hospital has focused his attentions on understanding the interaction between paediatric and adult cancers and the immune system, in particular how cancers suppress the immune response to avoid destruction.

We have partnered with Dr. Mussai to support a range of projects from pre-clinical studies through to early phase clinical trials. Research into solid tumours and haematological malignancies is currently underway with Dr. Francis hoping to develop novel therapies to treat both cancer and rare diseases.

Our Mission:

•  To promote and Protect the mental health of the families of children’s suffering from Cancer.
• To Relieve sickness by assisting research into the nature, causes, diagnosis and prevention.

Our Vision:

TCWC wants to make a dreams come true. To do so, firstly, we are committed to bringing joy to the lives of those children and families affected by the diseases despite the challenges they face. And, secondly we will continue supporting ground breaking research into the nature causes, diagnoses and prevention of all cancers.

TCWC has a vision which is to bring joy and happiness into the lives of these affected children and their families by being a funder of world leading clinical research into this disease that will help stop and prevent this in the future.