Nominations open for Cancer Research UK Children & Young People Star Awards

Families across the North West are being called on to nominate young cancer patients and survivors for the Cancer Research UK for Children and Young People Star Awards in the run up to Christmas.  

The Star Awards are open to under 18s who have been diagnosed with and treated for cancer in the last five years. Around 190 children are diagnosed with cancer in the North West every year.

There is no judging panel for the awards, because Cancer Research UK for Children and Young People believes every child diagnosed with cancer deserves special recognition.

Everyone nominated receives a trophy, £50 TK Maxx gift card, t-shirt and a certificate signed by a host of famous faces, including Nanny McPhee and Last Christmas star Dame Emma Thompson and This Morning’s Dr Ranj, as well as children’s favourite entertainer Mister Maker. Their siblings also receive a certificate.

Anna Taylor, spokesperson for Cancer Research UK for Children and Young People in the North West, said: “Our Star Awards, supported by TK Maxx, shine an important light on children and young people with cancer. We know that a cancer diagnosis is devastating at any age, but that it can be particularly difficult for a child or young person and their families.

“That’s why we’re calling on families across the region to nominate inspirational youngsters for an award, so that we can recognise their incredible courage.”

Thanks to the support of people in Rochdale and across the UK, Cancer Research UK’s research has helped transform survival for children’s cancers, which overall has more than doubled in the last 40 years in the UK.

In the early 1970s, four in 10 under 15s diagnosed with cancer survived their disease for at least five years. Today, it’s more than eight in 10. But there is still more to do to bring forward the day when every child and young person survives their cancer with a good quality of life.

The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is one of the many centres across the UK taking part in ground-breaking clinical trials co-ordinated by Cancer Research UK’s Children's Cancer Trials Team.

These trials make innovative new treatments available to children with cancer in Manchester. One of the trials is finding out what the best possible treatment options are for children and young adults with a type of brain tumour called ependymoma.

The Cancer Research UK for Children and Young People Star Awards are supported by TK Maxx, the biggest corporate supporter of the charity’s research into children’s and young people’s cancers.

Since the partnership began, the retailer has raised over £34 million for research to help more children and young people survive cancer.

To nominate a child, visit:

• www.cancerresearchuk.org/children-and-young-people/star-awards/nominate