My first reaction to reading your post was to say a very rude word that I am not allowed to post.   There are too many teenagers and children suffering from this horrible illness.  At a time when life should be opening up and full of interesting things the fact that you should be suffering in this way is one of the many things that is way beyond anything fair in this universe.  I have not suffered from cancer but have seen its effects on too many family and friends.  I trust others will be along with more thoughts on how it has affected them but I just wanted to say "hello".  I don't know which of the two girls you are in the photo but whichever it is I can see being in bed is the last place you want to be.  You have mentioned your treatment - how long is this expected to continue with what outcome?  But we will understand if you don't want to go into all the details.  What you are going through now is bad enough.  Please continue to post if it helps you.

Hi there Sophie ... Bet it helps, getting it off your chest, l know it helps me ... There are no words l can offer to make thinks better ... How l wish l had a magic lamp ... It would be well used on here ...

I've got breast cancer but it's easier at my age ... My son got diabetes when he was just 14 when life should have been mates and fun growing up... But instead he has a lifetime of injections and blood tests... I nearly lost him twice to hypos ... Now he's having lots of tests that scare me as to what and why ... He is and always will be my baby ... 

So my hunny ... I wish l could give you a real hug, and take it all away ... But I can send you a vertual hug ... And know we're always here ... When you feel angry or sad or any feeling you have, you let it out here ... and we,ll scream at the world to-gether ....   .  Xx chrisie 

Thankyou Chrisie for your reply, it really sucks being young and in hospital, let alone having a life altering disease. i know whats its like as i also have chronic liver disease that ill have to live with for the rest of my life. ive already had one transplant and liklihood ill need another is high! my mum tries to relate to the pain i am in as she to had breast cancer, she can relate to surgical pain but when it comes to the restless nights and all the side effects of the chemo she is lost and just gets upset. 

it means a lot to know that i can type how i feel and someone out there understands how i am feeling

lots of love sophie xx

hi, im the one in the right of the photo!! i am defiently a party girl and hate being bed bound! where the cancer i have is really rare they dont know the outcome yet, they hope to cure it but they havent given me a time in when i will i finnish treatment. I am on R-CHOP, Methotrexate and intrathecal infusion of methotrexate. I am really strugglng atm with ulcers in my mouth from the chemo, so i havent eaten for the past couple of days. 

Hi Sophie ... You said about mouth ulsers and sore mouth .... I'm sure rilleyroo could give you some info on that as she and couple of others have the same problem ... They have lost their taste buds too from chemo ... I will ask them to pop along ... As my bones are weak I'm not having it ...

Any time you feel the need, there's wonderful people on here so don't think your putting us out, your not ... You hold on tight as it's like a rollercoaster, and when you get scared or angry or it's just a low day, look around and know we're right here on the rollercoaster with you ... 

Take care brave lass ... You kick cancers *** right along the road ... Chrisie

Hi there ... Just thinking maybe "ask the nurses" may pick this up and give you some info on mouth ulsers and such ... As rilleyroo didn't have chemo, and I thought she had , so she's no wiser then me ... 

But the free phone number on here or McMillan can deffenatly know more then us ... Please keep in touch as I'd love to know how you go , no mater even if you just wanna chat ... I've got teenage grand kids too , so I'm up on how they feel sometimes ... My thoughts are with you ... You hang on in there my hunny ... And you just may get to do all those things you want to do, one day ... Big hug chrisie xx

Yes, please do keep in touch.  It may seem unlikely to you but we had our wild teen years once upon a time - and I know I loved them.   Sometimes I wonder how I survived them and would not want to know if my son got up to similar antics.   So we do feel for you even though we are not in your own unique personal position.  I do hope you get some help with your ulcers - Chrissie's suggestion of asking the nurses is a good one.

Hi Sophie,

This is certainly not what the average teenager has to look forward to in life, although there are many in this world who are a lot worse off than you too.

I don't know whether you know that there is a website about teenage cancer at www.click4tic.org.uk/.../forums. There is also a forum for teenagers whose parents have cancer at www.riprap.org.uk/.  I know that you are almost past being a teenager, but you might get more out of talking to other teenagers who know about cancer than chatting to a group of old fogies on this site (apologies to all on this site, but I’m sure that you get my gist).

Please do not for one minute think that I am trying to push you away from this site. You are more than welcome to use all three sites and get as much support as you can from all of them.

I am glad to hear that your Mum appears to have beaten breast cancer. My mum had it for 12 years, before it spread to her liver, lungs, bone and brain. She died within a year of discovering these metastases. I myself have now had 2 bouts of breast cancer as well as a host of other health problems. My first bout was 7½ years ago and my second was 6½ years ago. I had a bilateral mastectomy the second time and I’m delighted to say that it hasn’t recurred since then. I also have chronic liver disease which can leave me feeling pretty awful at times, so I really sympathize with you having had these problems. When did you have your transplant?

It sounds as if you have been dealt a nasty hand in life, but the best way to deal with this is to make the most of what you’ve got instead of worrying about what you’ll never have. It sounds as if you have been fortunate to survive all the obstacles thrown at you throughout your short life and I hope that you can come to accept your lot and continue to battle on with the help of your family and wonderful care team.

I hope that the path ahead of you is smoother than the one you’ve been on so far. You will soon discover that having cancer is a lonely place to be regardless of your age. Many people do not know how to react when they discover our medical problems, although you will often find support from those who have cared for family and friends with cancer. I must confess that I have been very surprised to see where support and understanding has hailed from. Have you mentioned the ulcers and blisters in your mouth to your care team? My mum had a lot of bother with these in her latter stages. The doctor eventually prescribed an anti-fungal spray, which was quite a help, even though it didn’t get rid of them completely.

I am thinking of you and hoping that you get a well-earned break from treatment soon. It sounds as if you are due on

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you whenever you feel like talking.

Stay strong and make the most of the good days,
Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Sophie, 

Following on from Jolamine's post I just wanted to let you know about another online community for 16 - 24 year olds who have or had cancer. It's called CLIC Sargent's Online Community and you can find out more about it here.

I hope this helps and that you're able to connect with others of a similar age who understand what you're going through.

Kind regards, 

Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Sophie,

I am now 19 and I know exactly what you are going through to a certain degree... Last year at the end of June I was diagnosed with Accute myloid leukemia... I may not if had to have a transplant, however whilst all my friends were enjoying their summer going out with each other I was stuck in a hospital. And then when they came up it was really uncomfortable and I was severely ill afterwards. I missed college when I was in hospital, however now I deffinately don't miss the deadlines.

Just remember that you have to just stay positive and remember that it will all be over soon. 

If you want to talk to someone I will be more than willing to listen.

Remain positive

Josh