Scott's story

When a child or young person has cancer it can heavily impact on their education. It's hard to stay on top of daily tasks such as homework whilst receiving treatment and they often fall behind.

Scott Weaver was diagnosed with a brain tumour in November 2008 when he was 15. He had intensive chemotherapy that lasted three months at Pendle Community Hospital and brain surgery at Hope Hospital, Manchester as part of his treatment. He is now doing his A-levels and plans to study Ancient History at Manchester University.

Scott takes up the story:

Scott told CLIC Sargent: “I actually really like school and the fact that I had to put my education on the backburner made me feel really frustrated. Although teachers came to visit me in hospital, I was so tired during treatment that I was falling really behind. I got stuck in a cycle of  feeling annoyed that I couldn’t keep up, which would make me more tired and then I couldn’t do all the work I wanted to.

“In the end I decided to focus on getting better so I could re-take year 11 and year 12. I’m now in year 13 doing really well."

University

“What makes me feel annoyed is the fact that I’m going to have to pay more now to go to university as the fees have just been raised. Education is so important to me and when I saw my friends go off to university it was so hard. It makes me feel angry to think that because I had to go through treatment for cancer, and had to stay behind, I will also have to pay off more debt when I graduate. There won’t even be any benefits that I can apply for to help me out."

Lasting effects

“I have some lasting effects from my treatment including severe fatigue and I still struggle to do my homework when I get back from college. Because I had an operation on my brain I have a permanent weakness down my right-hand side as well, so I’m not as able to do the things that most young people are able to do.”