0:00:07 > 0:00:11Every day in the UK, seven teenagers find out they have cancer.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Here, in the Royal Hospital For Children in Glasgow,
0:00:21 > 0:00:25the Teenage Cancer Trust have set up a specially designed teen-only unit.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30This is where we hang out.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32It's more like a youth club than a hospital.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36It's a great place to hang out,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39we can relate to each other and we know each other's stories,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42so we chill and meet other teenagers who have cancer
0:00:42 > 0:00:44who understand what it's like.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51The unit brings together young people from all over Scotland
0:00:51 > 0:00:54who are dealing with cancer, so they don't have to face it alone.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14Agh!
0:01:18 > 0:01:22See when somebody says to you the word "cancer",
0:01:22 > 0:01:24you just go blank.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31It started sinking in when my hair started falling out.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35That's when it properly, properly sunk in.
0:01:39 > 0:01:40My name's Natasha,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43I'm aged 15, I have Hodgkin's lymphoma,
0:01:43 > 0:01:44which is a type of blood cancer
0:01:44 > 0:01:46and I would have loved to have studied law.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Natasha comes to the teenage cancer unit from home
0:01:53 > 0:01:54up to five times a week.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Her chemotherapy sessions can last all day.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59MUSIC: Bad Medicine by Bon Jovi
0:01:59 > 0:02:01# I ain't got a fever...
0:02:05 > 0:02:07# To prescribe a remedy
0:02:07 > 0:02:10# I got lots of money but it isn't... #
0:02:12 > 0:02:14This is MY bad medicine.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18For me, it, like, symbolises this right now,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20so it's like, the aim song,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22to get rid of bad medicine.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27What gets me through is just positive thinking.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30People don't want to deal with it at the beginning, obviously.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33It's hard to deal with something like this at the very beginning
0:02:33 > 0:02:35when you get told, but when you get into it,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37there's nothing else you can do,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40you've got it, deal with it and that is it.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43# Bad
0:02:43 > 0:02:48# Medicine is what I need. #
0:02:48 > 0:02:50I'm feeling like crap.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52Absolute crap.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56My hormones are all over the place.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Slight things get me so happy, upset,
0:02:59 > 0:03:01it's like my emotions are running all over the place.
0:03:01 > 0:03:08..when people say cancer patients are upset, and that are dying...
0:03:08 > 0:03:09They're not.
0:03:11 > 0:03:12And we're not.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25The teenage cancer unit has four single rooms.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Some patients stay in the hospital for months at a time.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Hi, I'm Declan, I'm 14,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I have acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
0:03:37 > 0:03:41and I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53I started my treatment almost two years ago and I was doing fine,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55I was on a maintenance part of treatment.
0:03:57 > 0:03:58And then I relapsed.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02They took me for a bone marrow
0:04:02 > 0:04:05and they found out the chemo hadn't worked,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07which was horrible news.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Cos I was just transitioning from child to teenager.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17So I had to grow up pretty fast.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19Lucky again.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26My role in the hospital is to support the teenagers,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30and on a daily basis I try and put on activities and opportunities
0:04:30 > 0:04:34to relieve boredom and to maintain a sense of normality.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36And ultimately,
0:04:36 > 0:04:41I'm trying to get the teenagers together in this room to socialise,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43to support each other.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49Just reduces, really, some of their isolation and their boredom, really.
0:04:52 > 0:04:53I wouldn't say it feels any different
0:04:53 > 0:04:55to hanging out with regular friends,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59except for the drips going off every five minutes and stuff, but, no,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02apart from that, it's really not any different.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Declan has an aggressive form of cancer.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10A stem-cell transplant is his only chance of a cure,
0:05:10 > 0:05:11but it's high-risk.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Before he gets the transplant, his immune system has to be wiped out,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20which means the smallest infection could be life-threatening.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24So he's about to be moved into a strict isolation room
0:05:24 > 0:05:25for his protection.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30I'm fed up being stuck in a hospital,
0:05:30 > 0:05:31I just want a normal life again.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- Robert?- What?
0:05:34 > 0:05:37What century are you putting me into strict?
0:05:37 > 0:05:38This one, please.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40I'm fed up waiting.
0:05:40 > 0:05:41- Are you wanting to go the now?- Aye.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Right, sorted. Let's go, Champ.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48Right, wave bye to everyone.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50- Bye, world.- Bye, everyone.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51See you next century.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52Bye.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Stand in here.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58You wanting to come in, Dad?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09So the fastest anyone's done it is three weeks?
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Mm. You don't know that yet. You want to beat that record, aye?
0:06:12 > 0:06:14LAUGHTER
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Right. That's us done, dude. Knuckle bump.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23- You ready?- Aye.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Even for an adult, being stuck within those four walls
0:06:28 > 0:06:31for eight weeks would be mind-numbingly boring,
0:06:31 > 0:06:36but for a teenager who is so used to being out,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39and buzzing around with their friends and having fun,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42it can be so isolating.
0:06:45 > 0:06:46It's heartbreaking to see.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Only Declan's parents are allowed into the isolation room
0:07:11 > 0:07:14while he goes through the intensive treatment.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17How are you feeling today, wee man?
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Dr Nick Heaney specialises
0:07:48 > 0:07:51in working with young people with cancer.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54About to go and see a boy, Nairn,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57and he came into us about a week ago
0:07:57 > 0:07:59and he's had some tests done
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and we've got the results of those tests.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07I think for any patient coming into a ward where there's clearly
0:08:07 > 0:08:09been children being treated for cancer,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12there's children wheeling around their drips and they've got no hair,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14I think that gives a lot of warning to the parents
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and to the patient that there's something seriously wrong,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19and often what they're really worried about is,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21are you going to tell me there's nothing you can do,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23that my child's going to die?
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Started getting unwell around January time.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Just thought it was a chest infection, just...
0:08:32 > 0:08:34nothing much of it.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37And throughout then started to get a bit sicker,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41coughing and stuff like that, and it was really bringing my mood down.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43I lost a lot of energy
0:08:43 > 0:08:46and just felt horrible.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48I was going straight home to my bed,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I was crying a lot and it was just...
0:08:51 > 0:08:52I had...
0:08:52 > 0:08:55The emotions were just building up in me so much,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57I didn't know what to think.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02We're hoping it's not actually anything bad at all.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Hello. Hi there, thanks for all coming together.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15So, we've got the diagnosis back,
0:09:15 > 0:09:16and it is lymphoma.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19There's different sorts of lymphoma.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21- Yeah.- There's something called Hodgkin's lymphoma,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24which is more common in your age, and that's what you've got,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27and the pathology team have processed the sample,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30and they are 100% confident that that is the diagnosis.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Will that, like, affect my school?
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Well, your school's been pretty affected at the moment, hasn't it,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40because you've been in hospital for the last week or so.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Cos I have exams starting next year.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Yeah. The hope is, once we've got you started on your treatment,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50the rest of the treatment we plan to deliver with you as an outpatient -
0:09:50 > 0:09:52in other words, you're at home, you sleep in your own bed,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55and then on particular days you're coming up to hospital
0:09:55 > 0:09:58to either have a blood check or receive some treatment,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00and then getting home again.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Definitely taking biology this year.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05It was a big help, because right now I'm at a stage
0:10:05 > 0:10:08where I can actually understand what's going on with this,
0:10:08 > 0:10:09and it is a big help.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11It's good that you have got a good understanding
0:10:11 > 0:10:14of what we are doing and why we're doing it,
0:10:14 > 0:10:15you know, to get you better.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Because there will be days where you feel OK,
0:10:17 > 0:10:21but there's going to be days when you feel pretty rotten,
0:10:21 > 0:10:21pretty rubbish.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24But if you understand this medicine's making me feel like this,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27which is terrible, but actually you understand why you are
0:10:27 > 0:10:30taking that medicine, it will help you deal with those days
0:10:30 > 0:10:32- that aren't quite as good as other days.- Obviously, like,
0:10:32 > 0:10:37there's other kids here going through just as worse things as me
0:10:37 > 0:10:39or different things, but the same side effects,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42just knowing that I'm not the only one with it
0:10:42 > 0:10:44is also a good thing.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55When you actually hear it and you hear the word "lymphoma"
0:10:55 > 0:10:58or hear the word "cancer", it must be pretty devastating.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Then when he begins to then appreciate the knock-on effects
0:11:05 > 0:11:06it's going to have on school
0:11:06 > 0:11:09and the other things that are important to him.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12But he seemed to be remarkably positive
0:11:12 > 0:11:15and I think that's going to hold him in good stead
0:11:15 > 0:11:17as he gets through his treatment.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30I don't want my mum and dad to be worried and that.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32I wouldn't want anyone else to be.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Smiles on my face just helps THEM cope with it a bit better, I feel.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42And as long as, like, obviously being a teenager,
0:11:42 > 0:11:44you're going to get grumpy and that, sometimes,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46so I've tried to maintain...
0:11:46 > 0:11:51a good behaviour with them and it has kind of worked,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54but...it's difficult.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59I must say, like, sometimes I want to just be a bit grumpy or whatever,
0:11:59 > 0:12:01but I need to keep that smile on
0:12:01 > 0:12:03because I know it's helping them through it,
0:12:03 > 0:12:04so...
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Turns out I was allowed home...
0:12:14 > 0:12:16..12 days in, 13 days in,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20and they could give me most of my meds at home.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Actually not lost my hair yet.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26So, I'm actually quite relieved about that,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30but, you know, to be fair, worse things are going to happen,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33so that's the last of my problems
0:12:33 > 0:12:35and I know I can pull off hats, so...
0:12:36 > 0:12:39I don't like that feeling of, "Aw, I'm so sorry,"
0:12:39 > 0:12:41it really brings down the mood.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44I'd just rather everyone just act as like normal
0:12:44 > 0:12:46and even if I don't have my hair
0:12:46 > 0:12:49and even if my face is, like, ten times chubbier,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51I'm hoping just to be treated...
0:12:53 > 0:12:57..exactly the same as I was before, in a way.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Tough, tiring...
0:13:03 > 0:13:04..and simply quite boring.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09I just wish I could wake up and it was just a dream,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12but it's not, and I have to deal with it.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30It is so confusing because I miss, like, the old self.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34I look at myself and I feel,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36I don't know, fuller, with hair.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Before I thought, "I'm never going to walk out bald,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51"I'll always have my wigs on, every time I walk out the house."
0:13:51 > 0:13:54But now I don't care if people are looking at me
0:13:54 > 0:13:55because it's not their life.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59I can't always wear a wig every time I'm with somebody.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03It hurts my ears sometimes! It gives me a sore head.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04It's boiling.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Sometimes these heads creep me out.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13That one has eyelashes and everything.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14This one's just...
0:14:14 > 0:14:18quite creepy when you look at it at night.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Yeah, I have cancer and I'm going through chemo and...
0:14:25 > 0:14:29But my name isn't cancer and I'm not going to go through chemo
0:14:29 > 0:14:34my whole life, so why should I revolve my whole life around
0:14:34 > 0:14:38what's happening in these six months? I'm not going to.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52After seven weeks in isolation,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Declan's stem-cell transplant is working,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57and he's back in the teenage ward.
0:15:00 > 0:15:01Going home.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05It's what got me through it -
0:15:05 > 0:15:09the thought of going home and being normal again.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18Hi, Declan.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21All the punishing treatments have taken their toll,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24leaving him with no appetite and a low mood.
0:15:27 > 0:15:28Aw!
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- HE CHUCKLES - Hard luck!
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Do you want another game or...?
0:15:34 > 0:15:36- Nah.- You all right?
0:15:37 > 0:15:39I need a seat.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44It's difficult to smile now.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48I think I've been in hospital too long.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Getting a bit depressed.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56By no means a bad place.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Everything's brilliant here, but it's no' home.
0:16:00 > 0:16:01It's no' home.
0:16:03 > 0:16:09Well, it's sad because we had to do this for him,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11and even though things are going well,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15he's still not back to his usual self,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17but I have hopes that this will happen.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20It's just going to take a little longer.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23But it's very important also
0:16:23 > 0:16:26to assess what's happening with his mind.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Well, maybe we can give the psychiatrist a call.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Would you like to talk to them?
0:16:32 > 0:16:35I don't really do talking, to be honest.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39- OK.- I don't think it's helping at all.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Hi, it's Nairn again.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53I've not been on for the past few days cos I've been unwell.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Basically, my skin broke out
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and it was really bad,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03and then I started getting dry lips
0:17:03 > 0:17:07and cuts ended up appearing at the sides, which was so sore.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Then, after, like, that had happened,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16I'd been getting really bad headaches
0:17:16 > 0:17:20and my jaw had started getting really sore.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22So I ended up getting tonnes of new meds
0:17:22 > 0:17:25because it turns out these are all side effects.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30It's even worse because, um, my hair's started to fall out.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45It was only last week, I just re-shaved my head
0:17:45 > 0:17:46and you can still feel them.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48That's well weird!
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Natasha and Nairn have the same type of cancer,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54but Natasha is three months ahead of him.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58- Is your eyes sore?- Kinda.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01My mouth's been the worst part.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02Ulcers?
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Ulcers, a bit of thrush as well.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06- It's like fungal disease.- Mm-hm.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08It's so boring.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09I went out with my pals.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11- Did you?- Which was good.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15Does it feel like they treat you differently?
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Well, not really.
0:18:17 > 0:18:18More the parents,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21because then, like, usually your pal's parents
0:18:21 > 0:18:23- don't really talk to you. - Yeah, exactly!
0:18:23 > 0:18:26I thought my friend's dad didn't like me that much,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and then he's sitting talking to me about the golf.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30I'm like, "All right, OK."
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Because he's taking more interest in you because of all this.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34It's weird, isn't it?
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Weird, people noticing you more.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39What are you going to do, like, with your hair?
0:18:39 > 0:18:40I don't know, actually.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Cos I love my hair.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44I love doing it in the morning and stuff.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48It takes me just as long as a girl, probably.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51I know a boy who used to be like that.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53I use, like, hair spray and mousse and stuff.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55My hair was my everything.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58So that was, like, a couple of days after I got told,
0:18:58 > 0:19:00- and I went all blonde. - That's so nice.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02See now, I miss it, right?
0:19:02 > 0:19:05But see because I've basically because I've got temporary hair,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07it doesn't bother me any more.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10I prefer it. Like, see being bald and obviously when your hair
0:19:10 > 0:19:13can't grow back in cos of your chemo, embrace it.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16It is genuinely, like, it's so good.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Just need to get used to it. I don't want, like, patches and stuff
0:19:20 > 0:19:24on my head. It's something no-one should experience, really.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28But I think it will be sad at the start,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32but then I think I'll try and embrace it as much as I can.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Throughout the week, my hair's falling out.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44I'm quite scared of other people judging me.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Like, I think if I wasn't so scared of that fact
0:19:47 > 0:19:50I would actually be fine with it.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52You don't see yourself the same way.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Like, when I looked in the mirror, I just...
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Let's say, I thought I was uglier.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Your turn, Mickey.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19What am I?
0:20:20 > 0:20:23As much as I enjoy hanging out with the teenagers,
0:20:23 > 0:20:28the real benefit is for them to, you know, socialise together.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30See!
0:20:30 > 0:20:33I might just get them together and then I'll just disappear
0:20:33 > 0:20:36because a lot of times they don't even realise
0:20:36 > 0:20:38they're opening up to each other,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41they just have normal chitchat and stuff comes out.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49- Hi, Conor.- All right?
0:20:50 > 0:20:5419-year-old Conor has relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56- I'm Conor.- I'm Dean.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59I'm from two seconds away, literally.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Conor is back in the teenage ward
0:21:04 > 0:21:07in the run-up to getting his stem-cell transplant.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Can you get out Pentonville for Conor?
0:21:10 > 0:21:12- What colour's that?- Blue.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15No, it's the light blue.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17- Yeah.- How fast did the transplant go?
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- Was it all good?- It was pretty fast.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Four weeks in the isolation,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25and then about two or three weeks after,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28but everything was fine, like.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33- Yeah.- However, word of advice, do not let your mouth get dry.
0:21:35 > 0:21:36Drink constantly,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39because I let my mouth get dry and now look at the state of it,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43because the radiotherapy destroys the inside of your mouth.
0:21:44 > 0:21:4715-year-old Nikki is a few steps ahead of Conor
0:21:47 > 0:21:50and has started radiation treatment.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53I was scared when I first went in. I was literally tearing up,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and I was like sitting in there, like, Do you want your mum?"
0:21:56 > 0:21:58I was like, "Yeah."
0:21:58 > 0:22:02When you get started on Cyclosporine, you get a moustache.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Yeah, I can slightly see it.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07And your eyebrows go quite dark.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10I still can't believe I'm getting a moustache,
0:22:10 > 0:22:11it's actually quite scary!
0:22:13 > 0:22:15You're growing into a man, mate!
0:22:15 > 0:22:16Yay!
0:22:16 > 0:22:19But I'm cheating, I've got drugs helping me!
0:22:25 > 0:22:27It's very hard as a teenager,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31especially a girl, cos we've got, like, hormones...
0:22:33 > 0:22:36..and teenager stuff that teenagers go through.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Most young people aren't thinking about having children,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43but the teenagers here have to think ahead.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Both the chemotherapy and radiotherapy can affect
0:22:48 > 0:22:51the ability of that teenager to have children in the future.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53It depends on the type of chemotherapy they receive
0:22:53 > 0:22:57and where that radiotherapy's given, so it's different for each teenager.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02I got some of my eggs taken and frozen,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06so if I do want a baby, I'll just have to go to the hospital
0:23:06 > 0:23:07and, like, say,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11"Right, I was here when I was 14 and can I get my eggs back?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14"I want to have a baby, and all that."
0:23:14 > 0:23:18So, they're protecting what I want later on in life.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31After two rounds of chemotherapy,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Natasha's come in for tests to see if the treatment's working.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39You tell me if it's uncomfortable, and I'll not put so much pressure.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42I feel like such a kid!
0:23:45 > 0:23:46Oh!
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Dr Heaney has the results.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58So, shall we take you back to the beginning,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02OK, when you first came to us, you had swollen glands in your neck.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05OK? And you can see here, they weren't just swollen,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08they were quite hot. That yellow colour is they're hot
0:24:08 > 0:24:09and they're active.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12That's the sort of thing we see with Hodgkin's lymphoma,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14- they're quite active.- Yeah. - And you had, your arm,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16you knew about that, because you could feel them there
0:24:16 > 0:24:18and you had them in the chest here,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20which you couldn't feel but we could see.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22And that is what we saw at the beginning.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25So what we wanted to see were those getting smaller
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and then this one now is the scan currently.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Yes. So you've lost all that heat there, OK?
0:24:32 > 0:24:34And you've lost this kind of swelling.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36So you've actually had a very good response,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40so the Hodgkin's lymphoma is not active like it was
0:24:40 > 0:24:43right at the beginning, so the chemotherapy's doing its job.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45That's really good news.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Can you get a better result at this stage?
0:24:48 > 0:24:50No, you can't, really. That scan tells us and tells you
0:24:50 > 0:24:52that you're in remission at this stage.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54OK? So, I mean,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57did you have kind of good feelings or bad feelings about the scan?
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Well, I had good feelings, but I wasn't getting my hopes too high.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05That's fantastic news, because what this means
0:25:05 > 0:25:08is that the chemotherapy alone should be a cure for her
0:25:08 > 0:25:10and we don't need to deliver radiotherapy.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Also, that means that her treatment overall will be shorter
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and she doesn't have to worry about the side effects of radiotherapy
0:25:16 > 0:25:19that she could get at the time, or that might affect her in the future.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25See now, I would never take health for granted.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28When I get married or have kids,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31that will be my main priority through everything in life,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33is health.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Because anything can happen at any point.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I just focus on my health and my education now.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42That is it.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44That will be it.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58# We're a thousand miles from comfort... #
0:25:58 > 0:26:02I've finished my two sets of chemo and I have four left,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06so, it's exciting because more's out the way.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Natasha was really, like, supportive and I think it was really helpful
0:26:13 > 0:26:16talking to her about what kind of symptoms she had
0:26:16 > 0:26:20whilst she was going through some of her treatment the same time as me.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22I think she made me help embrace
0:26:22 > 0:26:25what was wrong with me a bit more comfortably.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29So I think I'm just going to continue life as it was before
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and I'm hoping that everyone else can do the same.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Declan's mood is improving, but he's been struggling with his appetite.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50He knows that to get home, he has to eat.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54I asked him. I said, "What do you want to eat?"
0:26:54 > 0:26:58Because we're all desperate for him to eat and get good nutrition.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00He said, "I suppose the things that I want to eat
0:27:00 > 0:27:04"are the things I'm not allowed to eat, like takeaways."
0:27:05 > 0:27:06So they've compromised
0:27:06 > 0:27:09and he's allowed to have, like, McDonald's chips.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11- They were brilliant.- Yeah?
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Yes.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I'm stuffed.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17For once, I'm finally stuffed!
0:27:18 > 0:27:19Oh, man!
0:27:25 > 0:27:29After eight months on the teenage cancer ward, intense chemo,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32total body irradiation and a stem-cell transplant,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Declan can now go home.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39Oh, it's a relief!
0:27:40 > 0:27:43That's for sure, because he's been in for such a long time.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46And he was up for all of the possible complications
0:27:46 > 0:27:48that we could have,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51because he had a really difficult disease to treat.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55I'm finally getting out of here.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58I'm cured.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00For the most part. Yes, it can always come back,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03but I've had the transplant and everything, so...
0:28:04 > 0:28:06..if it comes back, it comes back.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11I don't have words to describe it.
0:28:11 > 0:28:12I'm that happy.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16I can't think of anything to describe it.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20I've been waiting for this for so long.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23And now it's happening.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30# I can't wait to go home
0:28:30 > 0:28:33# And I'm on my way
0:28:33 > 0:28:39# I still remember these old country lanes
0:28:39 > 0:28:43# When we did not know the answers
0:28:43 > 0:28:49# And I miss the way you make me feel
0:28:49 > 0:28:50# It's real
0:28:50 > 0:28:57# We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill. #