A world-leading centre that will save lives, reduce suffering, and bring hope to young people and their families.
Did you know that of all children who die with cancer, 1 in 3 will die not because of the cancer, but because of the side effects of treatment? Worse still, research into reducing these side effects for children is virtually non-existent.
Amazing progress has been made in understanding and treating childhood cancers. Today, around 80% of children or young people diagnosed with cancer survive.
But despite advances in curative medicine, little has been done to improve the experience of living through and beyond cancer. Children often receive cancer treatments designed for adults and the impact on their smaller bodies can be severe. They suffer horrible side effects which can be traumatic, permanent, and even deadly.
In 2023, we launched The Candlelighters Supportive Care Research Centre to find out how paediatric oncologists can better treat and reduce these side effects.
Meet Ralph
Ralph was visiting London for the weekend with his family when he was taken ill. He’d always been a healthy little boy but had recently picked up suspected tonsilitis. Upon getting a chest X-ray, doctors found several large tumours in Ralph’s neck and chest. It was then discovered that Ralph had T-cell lymphoma.
Treatment began immediately and the cancer responded well to it. But the side effects Ralph experienced were devastating. The chemotherapy made him violently sick. It decayed his teeth and five had to be removed. His skin was sore and painful to touch. His immune system was severely suppressed, causing him to develop sepsis.
No one can prepare you for the side effects. He couldn’t walk, he swelled up from steroids, he would scream in agony.
Ralph’s mum, Cleo
No young person should have to experience what Ralph did. Yet for children and teenagers with cancer, this experience is far too common. We established the centre to find better ways to care for children like Ralph. To reduce their suffering and ultimately reduce deaths from side effects of childhood cancer treatment.
What is supportive care?
During cancer treatment, there are different types of care patients may receive. Curative care is the treatment that is given to cure a patient, like chemotherapy to kill cancer cells. Supportive care refers to all other types of care except the treatment of the cancer itself. For example, supportive care might be using medication to relieve pain from treatment or antibiotics to reduce infection. Supportive care is crucial for children and young people with cancer. It can help to prevent or reduce side effects and give them the fullest life they can have during treatment.
The Candlelighters Supportive Care Research Centre
The Candlelighters Supportive Care Research Centre is bringing together the world’s leading supportive care experts to carry out high-quality research. Led by Professor Bob Phillips, the centre is identifying and exploring new techniques and treatments which can have significant positive impacts on young people and can be implemented on a national and international scale.
We’re committing £1m over five years to establish the centre and make better care for children with cancer a reality. By establishing the centre, we hope to raise the profile of supportive care and help transform what it means to undergo cancer treatment as a child.
Current projects
Initially, the centre will progress the following projects :
Preventing mucositis: Using red light therapy to prevent severe mouth ulcers which can leave young people unable to eat or swallow. These ulcers can extend from the mouth to the entire digestive tract and be excruciatingly painful for young people.
Preventing nausea and vomiting: Exploring ways to reduce persistent sickness and nausea which are detrimental to children's wellbeing and can lead to weight loss and heightened anxiety around receiving treatment.
Reducing hospital stays: Finding how to determine which young people can safely return home, minimising stress and disruption to their daily lives, and getting them back to the surroundings they are most comfortable in.
Priority setting: Working with patients and families to identify the most impactful areas of research for them and using this insight to determine the strategy and priorities for the centre, going forward.
In the longer term (5-15 years) we aim to see:
- A team of new, capable researchers to take studies to the next level.
- Fewer children and young people dying from side effects caused by cancer treatment.
- Better nutritional interventions and improved psychological and social support.
- Sustainable generation of grant income to continue to produce high-quality research.
- A Yorkshire-based, world-class centre of excellence in research, impacting global care.
We're currently seeking people, businesses and Foundations who can provide funding that will enable us to continue delivering this pioneering project. By minimising the debilitating side effects that come with treatment, like the sickness Ralph experienced or the mouth ulcers that make it impossible to eat or drink, we can get more children home – back to their education, their friends and their families. Together, we can work towards a world in which fewer children die from the side effects of treatment.
If you'd like to join us in saving lives, reducing suffering, and bringing hope to children like Ralph, please get in touch.
The life-changing research we fund is all thanks to support from donations and fundraising. We receive no government funding and only a small proportion of national cancer research funding is spent on researching children's cancers. Your support is vital to continue making progress. If you'd like to support our research, please donate today.
