The Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) service.

One of the departments at The Christie, funded by the charity, is the Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) service, which cares for teenagers and young adults (16 to 24 years of age) with a cancer diagnosis and related illnesses. The unit was built in 2015 and houses both the TYA and haematology and transplant services, as around a third of the young patients have blood-related cancers.

Hamish was 23 years old in 2020 when he was diagnosed with cancer for the second time in his life.

We are so glad that he was able to have his treatment in the safe and nurturing environment of the Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) unit at The Christie.

This is the NHS-designated regional principal treatment centre for all 16 to 24-year-olds diagnosed with cancer in the North West. The service provides care, treatment, and support to 270 Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) patients per year across a regional network working in partnership to support 15 other hospitals in the North West.

The Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) service at The Christie is provided in a dedicated purpose-built £12m unit built in 2014, with £10m provided by The Christie Charity.

Inpatient care is provided in 10 TYA designated beds, with each inpatient having their own private en suite room. Day patient care is provided through four treatment chairs and two beds in Rob's Day Unit for patients who have day-case chemotherapy, need blood or platelets or are having radiotherapy or through our Ambulatory Care Unit. In addition, the Christie TYA team provides access to clinical trials and is aiming to increase the number of TYA patients offered trials.

Young people are encouraged to use the two social hubs in the TYA to play pool, listen to music, and take part in workshops and other activities. They also have access to a dedicated gym, a music room and a complementary therapy room.

Young people under The Christie’s care have the support of a multi-disciplinary team, including specialist TYA nurses, psychologists, social workers, youth workers, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. Each young person is given a ‘key worker’ - a senior nurse who coordinates care over the treatment pathway.

“The Christie Charity only exists because of the fantastic support from all of its amazing fundraisers. This allows the charity to assist the Trust in four main areas: research, care and treatment, education, and extra patient services, enabling it to deliver the very best care from the very best staff in the very best environment with the very best equipment. This means the charity can fund life-changing and potentially life-saving projects that will benefit cancer patients both now and in the future.

(The Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) service at The Christie - Registered charity no. 1201654)