Many people seeing CanTeen’s colourful Bandanas for sale on shop counters or receiving a CanTeen sourced Christmas card may fleetingly wonder what this CanTeen is all about.
CanTeen is a well organised New Zealand wide grouping of young people dedicated to supporting fellow young people living with cancer. The country is divided into fourteen branches, each of which is run by paid staff members and volunteers. These are in turn overseen by a Board of four CanTeen members and five outside advisers. Wairarapa is part of the Wellington Division.
The Wairarapa area president is Lucy Coombes whose brother died of cancer. Lucy explains “the whole thing is about peer support. Different people need different things, being among to know what these are is important”.
The range of these ‘different things’ is huge. It may be providing practical assistance such as educational material or petrol vouchers to assist with the travel. It may be providing a daytime companion for a sufferer who in isolation has been suddenly cut off from regular friends. It may be encouraging someone to the regular coffee gatherings to meet and chat with others in a similar situation. Or providing support to a young person whose sibling has succumbed to cancer.
Cancer usually strikes young people suddenly, completely turning their life around, cutting off normal life and replacing it with a regime of treatment which leaves them feeling pretty dreadful twenty four seven.
One way CanTeen’s support keep these young people’s spirits up is by helping them escape to normality for a period though organised events such as mystery trips, bowling alley gatherings, fishing charters, ski trips etc.
Often community groups will assist with providing such outings. As an example the Auckland Ferrari Club hire the car race track for a day and provide quick laps in their quarter million dollar cars. Enough to raise any young boy’s (and sometimes girl’s) spirits.
CanTeen’s activities obviously require a lot of financing, it receives no government funding and is totally reliant on individual and community generosity. In the Wairarapa members collect in Masterton and Greytown on the annual Cancer day, which helps. However Lucy points out that it is difficult for young people to fund raise and would be happy to hear from people or groups who may be able assist with funds or fund raising ideas. (Lucy’s phone number is 3086 623).
Lucy also emphasises that CanTeen exists not only to help the patient but also their siblings or bereaved siblings too. “ A lot of people who aren’t patients don’t realise that they can still be part of CanTeen” she explained.
Check out CanTeen programmes on: www.canteen.org.nz/about/our-programmes.
