Youth Cancer SA's Biggest Morning Tea

A Sip of Thomas’s Story

Hey there! Thomas here! 

Quick wrap-up – at 14, I suddenly and quite dramatically became ill with an extreme case of puberty, at least that is what I could only assume. The reality was slightly more dire, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL)… on April Fools…

The year was 2012 and, just as the Maya civilisation had predicted, it really felt like my world was ending. Now, at 27, I am extremely grateful for the medical treatment I underwent and the loving support from my family and friends. All vital for me to be here today, but in saying that – the way supports and services available for youth cancer patients are provided could always be improved.

I believe there should be more of an awareness around mental health and cancer, and especially how “survivorship” is a bit of a poor description. Recovery is rarely travelling along a steady path, but instead we come across many bumps and dips over years post-treatment. Despite this, access to support services often dwindle at the worst of times.

The crux of my cancer advocacy work is to help raise awareness around the difficulty in navigating such a scary and unknown experience at such a young age. After all, what adolescent or young adult expects cancer?

A Sip of Jackson’s Story

G’day my names Jackson and in May of 2023 at just 25 years of age I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). I underwent four intense rounds of chemotherapy to get my system to a stage where I could have a bone marrow transplant. AML is extremely uncommon in people my age so my treatment was very tricky involving multiple complications along the way and an induced coma in leaving me in the ICU. 

For me health is a gift that you don’t realise you are given until something takes it away. This is why I’m taking part in a Youth Advocacy role. The focus of my advocacy is to spread awareness to the world that cancer affects people of all ages including the healthiest young people around us and shining light on how people can help other young people going through there cancer journey.

Event info

We are looking forward to seeing you this coming Sun, 29 Jun, 10am - 2pm ACST for Youth Cancer SA's Biggest Morning Tea

Feel free to drop in any time between 10am-2pm, or to spend the day with us. We will have storytelling and activities throughout the day, following this schedule:

• 10:00am Doors open

• 10:30am Welcome & Cancer Council SA information

• 11:00am Storytelling - Jackson's story

• 12:00pm Storytelling - Thomas & Canteen's music video

• 12:15pm Interactive quiz

• 12:45pm Raffle winners drawn

• 1:00pm Storytelling - Dan's story

• 2:00pm Goodbye and thank you

Throughout the event you can mingle with our community of cancer patients, survivors and our friends and family.

Donations: You can donate in cash, by card, or online using our QR codes with your phone.

You can follow along with our fundraising goal at our Cancer Council SA page here: https://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/fundraisers/Youthcancersa

We can accept cash or card to participate in the raffle, tickets are $5 each or three tickets for $12. We have a range of excellent prizes, including movie tickets, bottles of wine, sets of mugs and glasses, book vouchers and vouchers for local tailors. And more!

Food: If you are contributing a plate of something to share, please take note of ingredients for allergens. We will have cards you can fill out to indicate this. Vegan and gluten free options will be available.

Drinks: To reduce waste, we encourage you to bring along your favourite keep cup to enjoy the hot drinks we are providing.

Getting there: We will be in the Banquet Hall at Goodwood Community Centre, 32/34 Rosa Street Goodwood. There is parking on site, and street parking in the local area, and frequent bus routes from the city on Goodwood Road, as well as Goodwood train station nearby.

Accessibility: This event is wheelchair accessible and family friendly. There will be craft activities for all ages to enjoy.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday!

From Liana, Kadi, Thomas, Jackson, Elias, Shona

A Sip of Kadi’s Story

Heya,

I’m Kadi, I was diagnosed with Classic Hodgkin’s Lymphoma a few days before New Years in 2022 at 24 years old. 

Knowing the bare minimum about cancer I like most young adults looked to social media to find answers on what to expect throughout my treatment and came up only with hospital beds. Therefore I decided to document my own journey which resulted in creating a community of others going through similar situations. This is what ultimately started my advocacy journey. 

Now nearly 2 years on, I work in the cancer program at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, advocate for YAs with the YAG, all which has formed my passion to now pursue a masters of social work to help more YAs going through treatments. 

I have a huge emphasis on survivorship and mental health especially around what to expect once treatments end and how to navigate the ‘bounce back’ into everyday life.

A Sip of Shona’s Story

My name is Shona,

I was diagnosed at age 23 with a meningioma in my spine, and I traveled to the Czech Republic to receive proton beam radiation therapy. 

My cancer advocacy focuses on the experience of disability as a result of cancer. My hope is that we can make it easier for young people with cancer and disabilities to navigate the healthcare system and to find their community.

I am fighting for young cancer patients to be involved in the education and training of our doctors, nurses, radiation therapists, and more!

A Sip of Elias’s Story

A Sip of Liana’s story

Support Our Biggest Morning Tea

Join us at our Biggest Morning Tea or donate online to help me reach our fundraising goal! 

As a group of youth cancer patients and survivors based in South Australia, we have organised our Tea to help Cancer Council raise much needed funds that go towards vital cancer research, support services, prevention programs, and advocacy.

We will be at Goodwood Community Centre Hall on 29th June 10am-2pm to share a Morning Tea with our friends, family and supportive community members. 

We will be providing tea and coffee and some delicious baked goods. Do you have a talent for baking? Bring along a plate to contribute!

Our youth cancer advocates will share our experiences and advocacy goals, and you can join in on some games! This is a family friendly event. 

We would love to see you there! Drop ins welcome

**Please RSVP at our event here to let us know you are coming: https://events.humanitix.com/youth-cancer-sa-s-biggest-morning-tea**