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The impact of a brain tumour on children’s mental health

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This week (3-9 February) is Children’s Mental Health Week and gives us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the children we support and how a brain tumour diagnosis impacts their mental health.

Tom’s Trust is the UK’s only charity dedicated to providing mental health support to children and young people, with brain and central nervous system tumours, and their families. We know that approximately 500 children and young people aged 0-19 are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year, and there are an estimated with a brain tumour at any one time in the UK.

A brain tumour is emotionally, physically, and mentally devastating, and for children and young people the impact of their medical treatment can continue to unfold for years afterwards. 1 in 5 children in England are recorded as experiencing mental health challenges, and for childhood cancer survivors, this number increases to 3 in 5 children.* Not all of the children we support will experience cancer but the mental toil from a benign tumour is still serious, as will be the mental health impact of fatigue, ADHD, speech or optical impairments, anxiety, or memory struggles – common side effects of brain tumour treatment.

How Tom’s Trust helps

Tom’s Trust clinical psychologists carry out cognitive, psychological, and emotional assessments on children and young people upon diagnosis and throughout treatment and the results of these help to form a pathway of care to instruct all involved in that child’s life and provide a benchmark for any future progress or decline. Also offered is access to one-to-one support, school liaison reintegration, whole-family support, and group counselling.

Jamie shares his story for Children’s Mental Health Week

Jamie is bravely sharing his story to highlight the mental health impact that a brain tumour diagnosis has on children and young people. In December 2020, at just 14 years old, Jamie was diagnosed with a metastatic midbrain Germinoma, a cancerous brain tumour. His treatment included a VP shunt to manage life-threatening hydrocephalus and proton beam therapy in Manchester. While Jamie overcame many physical challenges, the mental health impact was just as significant. The deep fatigue he experiences made returning to school incredibly hard, and he was moved down a year, losing his close friends and support network. This took a toll on his mental health, but Jamie has shown immense courage in sharing his story to help others.

We are challenging the way people prioritise mental health with a brain tumour diagnosis, if we didn’t exist children, young people and their families would not have this support. Please donate today to help more children and young people like Jamie and enable them to fulfil their potential.

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*Childhood cancer emotional health and wellbeing research fund

 

 

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