Throughout my cancer journey my friends were a great help to me. Whether it was someone from my own group of friends or a friend of my Mum, I’d like to thank you for all your support.

Firstly, thank you to all of my Mum’s friends, for not only supporting me but supporting Mum throughout this difficult time. Thank you for being there for her when she needed a hug or someone to talk to. Thank you especially to those who came up to the hospital with us when I was having my radiotherapy treatment. You were a great support to both of us, being in a position that we’d never been in before was pretty scary and you made it so much easier by just being there, chatting away with us to take our minds off the horrible things that were going on.

Alison, you were truly incredible, you made me laugh every time you joined us for a trip up to the Royal Marsden and you were the one that got me a room to lie down in whilst I was waiting for my radiotherapy treatment. I could then relax instead of getting worked up and making my arm hurt more. You also helped out when I fainted at home, rushing down the road to make sure I was ok and to reassure my Mum that I was.

To my own friends, you were incredible. I remember the day after I was diagnosed, we met up for a coffee. You immediately took my mind off the worries that were going around and around in my mind and you let me know that you would be there for me, no matter what. Thank you for coming to my 18th birthday ‘party’, yes it wasn’t quite a party and was probably the lamest one you went to that year, but you all made me so happy that day, knowing that you were still there for me and that I was still part of our group.

A special thank you goes out to my best friend Kat. You came and visited every week that you could, bringing round tasty treats! You gave me that chill out time that I needed, to forget everything that was going on and you made me laugh like you always have done! Keeping me up to date with everything that was going on at college, made me almost feel like I was still there with everyone. For my 18th birthday you got me that great present, a box of 18 little presents. My favourite of those played a big role in my cancer journey. It was an inflatable hammer called a ‘Whomp-it’! Every time I got frustrated, I would smash that hammer against something! Me and Mum used it to define the silly people we met along the way, including the speech therapist that I met. She gave the advice that to help stop me dribbling I should be sitting upright instead of lying down. Just after we had told her that I wasn’t able to sit up. She got the Whomp-it award!

Thank you also to the friends I’ve made after this all happened, you’ve all been supportive too, wishing me luck when I’ve gone for a check-up scan and making sure that I’ve been ok!

Thank you to everyone who was there for me and Mum through my cancer experience. Even if you don’t feel like you helped, you really did!!!