The types of cancer that affect teenagers and young adults are different from those that typically affect older adults or young children. They therefore need their own research programmes and specialist care.

At The Christie, we have a dedicated TYA unit that was built in 2015 from charitable funds. We are now looking to expand our TYA research team so that we can improve the treatment options available for our young patients.

The Christie charity is fundraising to provide five key research posts. These will help us to give more young people access to clinical trials of new treatments, as well as carrying out research into the genetic profile of cancers affecting the 16-25 age groups in order to match patients with the appropriate targeted treatment.

We will also be conducting new research focusing on the specific types of brain tumour that affect this age group, in order to develop new clinical trials and increase our understanding of the biology of these tumours.

One of the five posts will be a dedicated proton beam researcher, which will enable us to maximise the effectiveness of this treatment when our new proton beam centre opens in 2018.  

If you would like to donate to this appeal please click here.