About CLIC Sargent
Every day 10 families are told their child has cancer. As the UK's leading children's cancer charity, CLIC Sargent is the only organisation to offer them all round care and support. That's because we're there every step of the way:- During treatment - providing specialist nurses, play specialists, Homes from Home
- In hospital & at home - offering specialist social care and support in the community - services for young people, holidays, grants, helpline
- After treatment - helping survivors, supporting those bereaved
Amber's story
Two-year-old Amber Whiston from Sheffield was diagnosed with pilocytic astrocytoma, a brain tumour, in May 2010 and is undergoing twenty months of chemotherapy as part of her treatment. Amber, her mum Lara and dad Mark have been provided with support from their CLIC Sargent Social Worker, Jude.
Amber's mum, Lara recalls the day they received the shocking news "When we heard the diagnosis I just dropped to the floor and everything was just a blur. It felt like I was in a different world and it wasn't real. Everyone dismissed it at first and couldn't believe it.
"Amber had surgery a week after we heard the diagnosis and the first scan after her diagnosis found the tumour to be growing. She then started chemotherapy within two weeks and she'll be having it for another twenty months.
"Our CLIC Sargent Social Worker Jude just appeared in front of me one day in hospital and talked through what CLIC Sargent could do. We've had help with benefits and we've been able to chat at any time. It's been great to be able to call in at the CLIC Sargent office at Sheffield Children's Hospital and have a chat and a hug."
"We had no idea that we could claim for benefits, so it was great to have our CLIC Sargent Social Worker Jude around to tell us what we were entitled to. Jude went through the Disability Allowance Form with us and it's such a huge application form that she deserves a medal for going through it with lots of different families."
"Having the CLIC Sargent team around has made this living nightmare easier to bear by providing invaluable advice alongside great hugs and cups of tea. I can say to any family about to embark on this journey that this is a charity that will make a difference and we are eternally grateful for the help we have received."
For more information about CLIC Sargent's work or to find out more about how to get involved, please contact:-
>> Email: cupcake@clicsargent.org.uk
>> Visit www.clicsargent.org.uk
or call 0300 330 0803.
