All Party Parliamentary Group on Children, Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Children, Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer (APPG CTYAC) is a cross-party group of MPs and Peers which aims to raise awareness of the issues affecting children, teenagers and young adults with cancer and their families in Parliament.
The APPG CTYAC launched in October 2017 in recognition of the unique issues experienced by young cancer patients and their families.
Every year in the UK around 4,000 children and young people under 25 are diagnosed with cancer: that’s 11 children and young people every single day. The APPG brings together MPs and Peers from all political parties to champion the voices of children, teenagers and young adults with cancer in Parliament.
- Scrutinise the effectiveness of the system supporting young cancer patients throughout their experience of cancer
- Influence government policy to reflect the needs of children, teenagers and young adults with cancer
- Provide a forum for discussion in Parliament of the key issues affecting children and young people with cancer
- Champion the voices of young cancer patients and their families to ensure their experiences are represented to Parliament and Government
- Bring together and engage with relevant stakeholders supporting young cancer patients and their families.
Chair – Thangam Debbonaire MP
Vice-Chair – Jack Lopresti MP
Officers – Mark Tami MP, Ruth George MP and Jim Shannon MP
The APPG is supported in partnership by CLIC Sargent and Teenage Cancer Trust, who provide joint-secretariat services to the Group.
Inquiry into patient experience
In July 2018, the APPG CTYAC launched a new report, ‘Listen up! What matters to young cancer patients’, looking into patient experience for children and young people across the UK.
The ‘Listen Up! What matters to young cancer patients’ report was published by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Children, Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer (APPG CTYAC) in July 2018 and looks into patient experience for children and young people across the UK, making a number of recommendations for change.
The report concludes the APPG’s first ever Inquiry into patient experience for children and young people with cancer and reviews research and other evidence, including findings from the Inquiry’s survey of young people, parents and health care professionals and evidence gathered from the Inquiry’s two scrutiny sessions.
As part of the Inquiry, the APPG CTYAC surveyed young people who have experienced cancer and their parents and health care professionals. The survey found:
- Almost three-quarters of young people responding (73%) did not think enough was being done to improve experiences of early diagnosis
- 73% of parents and young people didn’t think enough was being done to ensure access to post-treatment support
- 64% respondents did not think enough was being done to create a positive experience for children, teenagers and young adults with cancer
- 82% of young people and parents responding to the survey did not think that the government listens to the experiences of young people with cancer and their families enough.
The APPG also held two scrutiny sessions in Parliament, where key experts across the cancer sector, including the Minister of State for Health with responsibility for cancer, gave evidence to a panel of MPs, a young person and a parent.
The APPG CTYAC is urging governments across the UK to take action to improve cancer patient experience for children and young people with cancer.
The report makes a number of recommendations for change including:
- Compulsory lessons in secondary school on spotting the signs of cancer
- Designated hospital parking for children and young people with cancer
- An agreement from the government to meet with young cancer patients yearly to discuss their experiences
- Offering access to free fertility treatment to survivors of childhood cancer who were not offered fertility preservation before receiving cancer treatment
The APPG CTYAC will work with government and NHS leaders to ensure what matters to children and young people with cancer and their families is addressed and acted upon.
Find out more
To find out more about the All Party Parliamentary Group, download the briefing.
If you are interested in joining the APPG, finding out more about its work, or joining the mailing list, please contact appg@clicsargent.org.uk.
If you join the mailing list, your personal information will be managed in line with CLIC Sargent’s privacy policy and Teenage Cancer Trust’s privacy policy and you can unsubscribe at any time.
The APPG CTYAC is a registered group.
This is not an official webpage of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in these webpages are those of the group.