Transcript Cancer in Young People - jean2192

Cancer in Young People
Looking at how cancer affects
young people and what the feel
while going through treatment.
Jean2192.wordpress.com
Inspiration

“When a child is diagnosed with cancer it can seem like normal life stops
and a different journey begins.” – CLIC Sargent.
 My own experience with cancer
has inspired me to get the
message out about cancer in
teenagers. Facts everyday 6
young people in the UK are told
they have cancer is scary.
 Cancer is a growing concern in the
UK and all over the world. I
conducted a poll (see slide 11) to
see how many people have been
affected by cancer in young
people, whether they know
someone who’s had it or had it
themselves when they were
young.
Radio Station & Show


“The Best New Music And
Entertainment”

Our radio station is BBC Radio 1
and the show is The Surgery with
Aled (formally known as the
Sunday Surgery)
BBC Radio 1 has been
broadcasting to the nation since
1967 and have been growing in
popularity ever since. It has been
established as the place to listen
to mainstream and chart music. It
also broadcasts specialist music
shows after 7pm including
electronic dance, hip hop, rock or
interviews.
The Surgery began in 1999 with
Sara Cox as presenter and then in
2008 Aled took over. It is
broadcast in FM and Digital
format.
Radio Station & Show





The Surgery
The show first began in 1999 and was aired on BBC Radio 1 from 9pm –
10pm. Since then it has 6 presenters and finally the 7th – Aled Jones.
Listeners are given advice to problems such as “love, sex, life and other
important stuff”. There are also listeners calling in with their own problems
and advice. Every so often Aled has a specialist subject on it. For instance
on the 26th February, Aled talked to Gareth Gates about stammering.
Although it was a 5-10 minute slot about it, it was still a specialist part of the
show.
The problems are mostly focused on adolescence problems or “young
peoples” issues. Aled also lets listeners tweet their problems/advice into him
as he knows they are technology literate.
As well as Aled, The Surgery has a host of medical and professional
doctors including Mel Sayer, and Stuart Flanagan and psychotherapist Dr.
Aaron Balick.
Common problems include; bullying, gambling, self-harm, teenage
pregnancy/contraception/abortion, exam stress and sexually transmitted
diseases.
Target Audience
Who is BBC Radio 1
aimed at?




Age Range: 15-29 year olds,
however the average audience
age is 33 year olds.
The audience want new music,
popular chart music and the UK
top 10.
They are technology literate and
are advanced in the use of social
networks like Facebook and
Twitter.
They are up to date with all the
newest things in music, fashion
and media and like popular, fresh
products.
Target Audience





There are around 7 million 16 – 24s in the UK (11% of the population). This
number is slowly declining – in 1971, they accounted for 13% of the
population.
The Young are the most ethnically diverse. More than 13% are from ehtnic
minorities – double that in the rest of the population. (ONS 2003)
They are less likely to have settled down that previous generations. The
vast majority are single (83%). Only one in twenty are married and only one
in ten are living with a partner.
The Young are better educated than ever before. They are placing a greater
emphasis on education. The number of people in further and higher
education has more than doubled in the past 10 years.
However education comes with a cost. According to the Student Income
and Expenditure Survey (05), students who graduated in 02/03 left
university with debts 2.5 times greater than students graduating in 98/99.
Expected debt for the average students in £8, 666.
Target Audience






The Young are less likely to read newspapers and more likely to go to the
internet for their news. The Sun is the most popular daily.
Its hard to shock with sex or drugs. Over 40% of the Young have smoked
cannabis and 86% of young people support its legalisation. Among today’s
16 – 24 year olds, 20% of men and 15% of women have already had 10 or
more partners.
Despite their lifestage – working or studying, married or single – as a group,
the Young are quite similar in their attitudes to life.
They grew up in the late Eighties, early Nineties and live in a world that
wasn’t available to most of their parents. They were brought up with
enormous consumer choice and are very demanding as a result.
They are technology literate. They are the first generation not to know life
without mobiles phones and credit cards.
The Young are trend-setters not only for one another but also for the rest of
the population. Younger kids up to them to check out the latest fashion, and
adults often observe them to find out what is “in”.
Target Audience



The Young are defined by the brands they consume whether it’s media or
clothing.
They weren’t old enough to remember:
Thatcherism
Live Aid
Space Invaders
Life without Channel 4
High inflation and mass unemployment
Studying without the internet
Computers without a mouse
The Young do not often associate the BBC with things that are relevant to
them. They perceive the BBC as generally “old-fashioned”, “introspective”,
“slow” and “corporate”.
What’s on their minds? …

The following statements have been aggregated from interviews with our
audience. These are just a few examples. They are insights into their world.
These audiences insights re useful as examples of springboards to creative
thinking, for example when considering the story behind the statement. Why
do young people feel like this? What do their feelings say about the world
they live in and the way they consider themselves? What is the subtext?
“If I don’t like football, I’m nobody.”
“Am I gay?”
“Money is for spending on me. Now. Not for saving.”
“I secretly admire Jordan, but I’d never admit it.”
“I don’t care about being in debt.”
“I’m a virgin but I’ve told my friends I’m not.”
“Just because I smoke the odd spliff, doesn’t mean that I’ll be smoking
crack in a few years time.”
“I worry that the ice caps are melting, animals are becoming extinct and the
world is gonna end.”
“If I don’t do what my mates do, I wont have any friends.”
“Gangs are scary, but being in one keeps me safe.”
“Just because I don’t know my dad, doesn’t mean I’m a loser.”
“I might be a teenager parent, but that doesn’t mean I’m a bad parent.”
Angle


As a group we have decided to pick the topic health and we are going to
concentrate on young people, our age range will focus on the BBC Radio
1’s target age of 15 – 29 year olds.
Why?
Health is always an important topic to raise to young people. The Surgery
on Sunday’s with Aled focusses on educating the audience and answering
any questions they might have about sex, love, life and other important
stuff.
We chose The Surgery because the people we are targeting are the people
who listen to BBC Radio 1 and The Surgery. We would hope our packages
educate the audience and answer some of their questions, just like what
The Surgery aims to do.
Angle




The angle I want to take with my 6-8 minute package is the emotional side
of a cancer patient. Everyone knows the harsh treatments patients have to
go through but what about what happens before, during and after. How do
they feel? Are they scared? Do they feel normal? Are they feeling sick?
I have chosen to concentrate on young people because being a young
person is hard enough. You try to be normal and fit in at school and college,
you try to get all your school work in on time, you try make friends and go to
all the cool parties. But cancer patients have to put all that stuff in the
background while they battle a life threatening disease.
Many cancer patients feel well enough to still attend school early on, but
may have to stop going as their energy levels decrease and their immune
system fails.
When they get over cancer, then what happens. I want to know how they
felt going back to school without hair? If they felt left out at school by
anyone? Were they scared about returning to normal life? I hope my three
interviews will reflect the emotional side of cancer.
Why it will work for radio.



Cancer is a very sensitive subject and holds a lot of emotional memories for
people. I think it would work on radio because music can be very influential
to how we feel while listening to it. Certain chords and notes can “tug on the
listeners heart strings” and skilled musicians can pin point these melodies
and make the listener feel what they want them to feel.
I want the music in the package to reflect the emotions I want to convey in
my package, I want them to really hear and feel the emotions brought
forward by my interviewees. I also want the listener to imagine this cancer
patient in their head, I want them to paint their own picture and through
radio we can add the emotion.
For things to really hit someone they don’t need to be conveyed through
pictures or videos or music. Simply a voice can send a deep, powerful
emotion through and I want my package to do that. The emotions in the
voices are key to my package and I am researching interviewees thoroughly
to get the correct people for my package.
Introduction




My initial ideas were scattered and I had many ideas about many things
ranging from Aung San Suu Kyi’s home imprisonment to the impact Milan,
London and Paris fashion week has on the high street trends.
When we decided on health I decided to do something close to my heart
and something I had a lot of knowledge in – cancer. Specifically Young
People with Cancer. Soon after I decided on an angle – the emotional state
of the cancer patients.
When I typed in cancer in young people, this came up
http://www.teenagecancertrust.org
It has been a constant source of information and research for my package.
It has also thrown many possible interviewees my way.
What is my package about?




My package will look at the emotions a cancer patient goes through. How it
affects their feelings towards family, friends, growing up, school work, etc. I
want my package to show how hard it is for a young person with cancer.
They not only have to battle a life-threatening disease but they also have to
deal with growing up, fitting in and schoolwork. Young people with cancer
have it tough, they will try keeping up with all the things but the treatment
and low energy levels they have will challenge them everyday.
Chemotherapy isn’t the only treatment, there is radiation, bone marrow
transplants, surgery, tablets, etc. I want people to know about this, in a
simple way they can take it in easily and understand.
I want to make sure listeners understand that cancer isn’t a death sentence,
there is life after cancer. I also want to tell them that young people get the
most intensive cancer treatment there is because their bodies are in peak
condition and can take the sometimes intensive and tough treatment.
Poll Results
Here are the results from my
poll which was posted on my
wordpress account –
jean2192.wordpress.com
As we can see from the poll a
huge 77.77% have had
experience of someone with
cancer. 22.22% have known
more than 5 or more people
with cancer.
I wanted to do cancer
because it is a huge disease
that affects a lot of people.
My team are doing it on
Health and we are basing it
on the Sunday Surgery which
is listened by young people
(see slide 4 for Target
Audience)
Research

The Teenage Cancer Trust
allowed me to read and research
many different types of cancers
from people aged 15 – 21 years of
age, perfect for my target
audience. As well as allowing me
expand the knowledge of cancers,
their stories give a real insight into
how they felt while in hospital.
They use words like “isolated,
worried, total shock”. It gave me
possible ideas for interviews, and I
have already contacted one of the
people on the site who went
through cancer to interview him
about his time after cancer.
Research


http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=d9VJoQoxqGo&feature=pl
ayer_embedded#!

The video showed current/past
patients aged 15 – 29 years old
and their experiences of hospital.
The CLIC Sargent website was
very helpful to my research. It
focuses on children and young
people. CLIC means Cancer and
Leukemia in Childhood. On their
website they have a special
section for young people which
includes tabs like; what is
cancer?, top sickness tips,
fertility issues, body issue,
social life, etc. This helped my
research greatly as I could see
how your social life and body is
affected and could write in my
research what emotions I hope to
get from my interviewees. It also
provided me with possible
interviewees.
Research
•I looked at the contact page and found a
woman in Edinburgh who I have contacted
and hopefully will be interviewing soon.
• The Cancer Counselling Trust,
although now closed, provided
me with many points of contact
to psychologists and therapists.
Many of which were family or
child therapists, ideal for
interviewing.
• The page also has Helpful Info for
Patients. It includes tabs like; The tasks of
recovery, getting back to normal,
regaining trust in your body –
managing the fears, getting back into
the “ordinary” world, etc.
• The articles are written by Dr. Peter
Harvey and tells us that people think
cancer is like any other disease, once you
have finished treatment, you are cured and
you are better. However this is not the
case, the emotional and physical steps to
becoming better will just be beginning.
Research


• Anything up to 58 out of every
100 people with cancer (58%) will
get depressed.

• But with the right treatment for
depression, 8 out of 10 people
(80%) will feel better
• Pretending that you are fine all
the time uses a lot of energy and
will make you feel very tired.

The Cancer Research UK website
helped me greatly in my research
as well. They have a special tab
entitled: Coping with Cancer. In
here is a tab about coping
emotionally with cancer and is
packed full of information.
They say there is not right or
wrong way to feel about cancer
because it affects different people
different ways.
They said that not all emotions will
be negative when you find out you
have cancer: “When I was told I
had cancer after my operation, I
was relieved. I had been under the
hospital for 18 months without
being diagnosed. Knowing was
better than not knowing.”
It also tells us about how you
might feel during and after
treatment.
Research



I have taken a lot of research from my own time in Yorkhill Children’s
Hospital. I was diagnosed in August 2005 with a T-Cell Lymphoblastic
Lymphoma (David Millward’s diagnosis). I was told I was the third person in
Britain to have it. My first thought, and question, was: “Am I going to die!?”
My doctor assured me I would be fine but would have to start treatment right
away.
They found out I had cancer, because I was taken in with a “sore heart”. I
was taken into surgery and had a large needle inserted into my chest. XRays and CT Scans showed that I had fluid in the sac around my heart.
They couldn’t remove all the fluid as this would put too hard a strain on my
heart. After removing the fluid and testing it, they found cancer cells in it and
realised there was a tumour, the size of a water melon, lurking in my chest.
The start of September I was sent to the Schiehallion Ward in Yorkhill. It is a
ward that is dedicated to children and young people with cancer and lifethreatening diseases. I started an intensive 4 month treatment plan.
Research



The treatment was intense. First I felt sick and very very sore. I had to have
cannulas put into veins every couples of days. The cannulas were sore and
the treatment I received made me feel very very ill.
Next my hair started falling out, in clumps. It was not only making me sad
but I also worried about my appearance. A normal teenage girl would take
hours doing her hair, whereas mine was falling out…quickly! To stop the
trauma of it coming out in clumps randomly, my Mum shaved my hair, at my
request. I remember sitting with my head in my hands, crying my eyes out.
It was one of the worst moments. Afterwards she tied a bandana round my
head. The first thing I remember, was it was cold! I never realised how my
thick hair had insulated the top of my head. I went to the bathroom, took the
bandana off and saw my bald head for the first time. It was so shocking I
burst into tears again. My Mum helped me a lot by cutting her hair short as
to support me.
I was 300 miles away from my hometown. My Dad and little sister, Kathleen
came down every weekend to see me but I missed them desperately. I
missed my Papa and my Uncle Liam, all my other family and friends.
Research




Not only did I loose my hair from my head, I lost my eye lashes, eyebrows,
leg hair and even the light hair on my arms. Losing this hair wasn’t as bad
but it was slightly weird to see myself with my eyelashes or eyebrows.
If I got an infection like a common cold I had to be put into isolation. This
meant my Mum had to wear a plastic apron when she was in my room and I
couldn’t have many visitors incase they brought in any bugs that I might
catch. This made me feel isolated and totally lonely. Things in my blood like
red blood cells, platelets, etc had to be at a certain level for me to receive
treatment. If I had a cold, these levels would plummet and my treatment
would halt, meaning I had to stay even longer in hospital.
Even after treatment, I had nightmares about some of the things that
happened in hospital. I would wake up crying or just have down days. Also
my energy levels would restrict me doing certain things in the day.
When I went back to school I was nervous, as my hair was still trying to
grow in, and scared that I would not know anything in the classes. Luckily I
had a great group of friends who supported me and made me feel normal.
Research



As well as worrying about going back to school I was worried about the risk
of my cancer relapsing (coming back). They assured me this was a very low
percentage and 5 years after treatment I would be OK.
But my emotions did not settle. Things like scar tissue near my heart hurting
me made me scared it could come back (even with the very low percentage
of it returning). Also my fertility could be affected because the chemotherapy
kills off all rapidly growing cells so my fertility could be affected. However
doctors assured me I should be fine and only minorly affected.
Sometimes when I look back on the treatment and my time in hospital I do
feel sad and scared but then I think towards my future and how lucky I am
to be alive and healthy again.
Research








I have gathered facts and figures to support my view that cancer is a deadly
disease and does affect a lot of young people.
From Teenage Cancer Trust – Every day, six young people in the UK are
told they have cancer.
From CLIC Sargent – 8 out of 10 children now survive cancer.
From Teenager Cancer Trust - Cancer is the number one cause of nonaccidental death in young adults in the UK.
From Teenager Cancer Trust - Incidence rates are now higher in 13 to 24
year-olds than in children, yet survival rates for this age group have not
improved as much.
From Teenager Cancer Trust - Young people get some of the most
aggressive cancers. But because only 0.6% of all cancers occur in young
people, they are often misdiagnosed initially.
From Cancer.gov – In 2008 69,200 adolescents and young people, aged
15 – 39, were diagnosed with cancer.
From Teaching Expertise.com – One in three people in the UK are
diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.
Music




I’ve had a lot of ideas for the music. I need to keep in mind its for BBC radio
1.
Some ideas I’ve had is:
Destiny’s Child – Survivor – A very well known song from the group, and
BBC Radio 1 listeners will recognise it, although it isn’t popular anymore.
I was also thinking of the song Lean On Me by Glee. Originally it was sung
by Bill Withers in 1972. However using the Glee version, the audience of
BBC Radio 1 will know what it is.
If we played the Bill Withers one, the listeners would
not know who it was. Another Glee song I thought of
was I’ll Stand By You. Both these songs have powerful
lyrics, the choruses especially convince me to use the
songs.
Interviews
I want to follow a journey of going
from being diagnosed to getting
treatment, and into remission. My
interviews will reflect this journey.


1st Interview – I want my first interview to be with someone who has just
been diagnosed or if I can’t get that, someone who has recently started
treatment. I want to know what their initial thoughts and emotions. I
want to know how they felt when the doctor told them: “You have
cancer.” How they dealt with it and what they thought it was going to be
like, and the reality of it.
2nd Interview – The second person I would like to interview is a cancer
patient, someone who is going through cancer at the moment. I want to
really hear the emotion in their voice. I want to know what treatment is
like and how it makes them feel (i.e. sick, sad, scared). If they are still
trying to study for school and if they are able to see friends.
Interviews



3rd Interview – The third person I want to interview is someone in remission
(the state of absence of disease activity in patients). I want to know how
they feel now. If they are going back to school, are they worried about their
lack of hair or any scars they may have due to treatment. Are they scared
that people will laugh at them or make fun of them? Ultimately how they are
feeling about going back to school and returning to life outside the hospital
and with no treatment.
4th Interview [back-up] – To break up the interviews I thought I could get a
doctor to tell me some facts and figures. Her/His voice will also be a
contrast to all the young people’s voices and act as a “break”. We can use
her to break up all the interviewees. Also she can act as a “back-up” if I
cant get my first three interviews.
5th Interview [back-up] – I also thought about having a cancer counseling
psychologist who perhaps works with children and young people about their
emotions while going through cancer. They will also be a contrast to the first
three interviewee’s voices and act as a back-up.
Story Arc
I want my introduction to
include some facts and figures.
But I also want to say that cancer
is not a death sentence.
My first interview will be with a
person who has just been
diagnosed and their feelings
on their upcoming treatment.
How they think they will cope
with everything.
My second interview will be with
a person going through treatment
and how they are coping with
not only the harsh treatment
but with keeping up with friends
and schoolwork. How they are
feeling.
For the final I want to reiterate
the fact that being diagnosed with
cancer is not a death sentence
and there is life after cancer.
Throughout the package I would
like to have a doctor telling us
about some facts and figures.
The voice of the doctor will give
me accurate facts and figures
the listener can know is right.
My third and final interview will
be with a person who has just
finished treatment and how they
are feeling after all the treatment.
Costings





£125 for a studio/a day [From Verden Studio, Portobello]
£250 for 1500 words for an actor
or £130 equity rate.
Travel – Bus Fairs so £1.30 for a single.
Also £40 for broadcasting [From Forth]
Found a site which charges $5 per SFX bought.
* Engineer may or may not be included in the cost, I will need to check the
website whenever I book a studio!
Health and Safety



One of the things involved in Health & Safety is that the equipment I am
using, be it software or recording devices like a Zoom Mic, I need to make
sure it is safe to use. I will check the batteries are all charged up and that
there are no loose wires and cables that shouldn’t be there. I will also
check with whoever I am buying/renting it from that it has been checked to
make sure it is safe and working properly.
Another health and safety issue is that if I am going to interview someone
that I verify who they are and make sure they are who they say they are.
Also to meet up somewhere public. However if they want to be interviewed
from home then I will tell people where I am going, what time and what date
but also bring someone with me just in case.
Depending on what location I am going to, I need to make sure it is safe. I
also need to check that if I am interviewing outside that the weather is
permitting. Checking the forecast a day before and check out where I am
interviewing will help this.
Ethics



I need to make sure that all the questions I ask, are OK with the
interviewee. I am going to send all the questions I have in mind to the
interviewee before I interview them and ask if they are all OK to ask them. If
not they can ask them to either be reworded or taken out completely.
While editing I need to make sure I don’t edit the interviewee’s questions
too much as to change their whole answers. I can’t make it sound like they
are suggesting something other than they were actually meaning. I will need
to be very careful during this time. After editing the questions I will send it to
the interviewee to approve.
While interviewing and editing I will have to keep to Ofcom and (because we
are broadcasting on BBC Radio 1) the BBC rules.
Style of Package


I want to really get the emotions in my interviewees voices across. I am
going to make it informative. However I want my presenter to be upbeat. I
want to get the message across that cancer is not a death sentence, that 8
out of 10 children now survive and that life after cancer can return to
normal.
If I keep it packed with information I think it will help the listener really
understand what the patients go through each and every day.
How I Will Keep The Listener
Interested.



I will keep the listener interested by keeping the package informative and
making sure the listener understands fully everything included in the
package.
It will be presenter led, with a female presenter. Her voice will be soft and
calm, making the listener feel comfortable and welcome. Although it is a
serious topic, I want the listener to feel like they can feel comfortable talking
about such a sensitive subject, I don’t want to overwhelm the listener.
The language will be informal, keeping all the information needed in simple,
easy to understand terms.
Shows that Influenced Me


One show that definitely influenced me to do a package on health is The
Surgery on BBC Radio 1. I heard Gareth Gates, a famous celebrity, talking
about his stammering problem. It showed that although a serious problem
for him he was able to inform people about it and how it made him feel while
he was growing up in school and society.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00pj5jk
This was on Sunday, from 9pm – 10pm.
I started listening to this show 2 years ago and it really made me
understand that any illness or disease can be talked about and explained an
easy to understand and informative way.
What About It Impressed Me



Interview Style – Aled not only interviewed Gareth Gate’s but Ed Sheeran
as well. He interviewed well known people with this problem of stammering.
The public can relate to these celebrities. I liked how Aled let the
interviewee give lots of the information and he only talked when he asked a
question or had an enquiry about the subject they talked about.
It included lots of information but it made me wonder what other celebrities
might have this stammer and types of treatment to try and help it. Gareth
gates gave us a couple of examples but it made me want to see if there was
any new emerging treatments and how many people actually have a
stammer.
The mixture of live and recorded was balanced well. Ed Sheeran was via
the phone but Gareth Gates was actually in the studio. It’s like he took time
out of his busy schedule to come and talk to us about his problem.
How it Will Fit with The Magazine


As we have seen before, The Surgery does have specialist spots. I feel that my
package about cancer will fit very well. I am addressing the emotional problems that
accompany the physical pressure and strains it puts on a patient’s body. I have
identified that cancer is a huge issue, not only in young people, but in all ages. I am
concentrating on young people, because my target audience will be able to relate to
the interviewees as they will be similar ages.
Maria will be looking at the effects of alcohol on student’s health, a huge issue when
young people decide to move away from home and have complete control over their
lives. Barry is looking at the effects of smoking and the positive/negative sides of
giving up. It is good to include something about smoking because every year 200,000
children and young people start smoking. As we know smoking is always related to
cancer, so Barry’s package links to mine. Lewis will be doing a package about drugs,
legal and illegal – the effect it has on young people’s bodies as well as the dangers
of them. Maria and Lewis’s link because it drug taking is rapidly becoming a growing
problem. It is thought that children as young as 15 years old are starting to take
heroin. Steph will be doing the stress of moving from school to university. I think we
have a good range of interviews. From life we have smoking and cancer, from
addictions we have alcohol and drugs and what can be classed as “other important
stuff” is the stress of moving from school to university.
Adverts That Inspired Me


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMwt28P_xSQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUQo3m3tGB0
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhYmGx9q7v4&feature=relmfu
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FruQGPMM750&feature=BFa&list
=PL771A6E2FA3D592BD&lf=plpp_video