Most children will have heard of cancer and will have their own ideas and beliefs about it. But these are often based on scary myths rather than the reality.

Macmillan Cancer Support provides practical and emotional support to people living with cancer by:

• funding and training specialist nurses and doctors
• building vitally needed treatment centres
• giving financial help to those who need it most and providing a range of cancer information both locally and nationally.

In the UK, over a million people are living with cancer and more than one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. These figures are forecast to increase. For these people, living with cancer still means living life to the full, no matter what the prognosis. At Macmillan, we aim to help people do just that.

You and your school/group can make a real difference by raising money to help us to carry on with our life changing work, both for people living with cancer and their families.

How our nurses help children to understand

By around the age of eight, children expect answers to everything, yet the uncertainty of cancer or the possibility of recurrence can be very hard for them to understand.  That's why an important part of a Macmillan nurse's training is learning how to answer a child's questions in a sensitive but honest way.  This also involves giving parents advice on how to talk to their children about it and ensuring the whole family learns how to live with cancer.

With a Macmillan nurse available to provide expert advice and support, a child can learn to cope with cancer in the family.

Sadly, there are only enough Macmillan nurses to help a fraction of people living with cancer. 

Knowing their children are receiving support at such a difficult time will be a huge relief to many thousands more parents, and the children themselves will be able to continue with their lives, free of the stress and worry caused by uncertainty and fear.