A 26-year-old cancer survivor from Pembrokeshire has recently enjoyed 'a silver lining' of five days of sailing from the Isle of Wight with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.

Callan Glass was 20 when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. He was among nine young people from the UK that went sailing from the Isle of Wight.

The isolation, loneliness and anxiety experienced by young people with cancer has been amplified by Covid-19 and lockdown, as the trust returned to the water.

Callan first sailed with the trust in 2016. He explains: “The last years been really tough for everyone. Being back at the trust has been better than I thought it would be, like being able to meet new faces and familiar faces and have that place to de-stress and not worry about the rest of life and just sail on by.”

Through the trust’s outdoor activities, young people meet others who have had similar experiences - often for the first time, rediscover independence away from home, experience an increased sense of purpose and self-worth, and begin to realise what they are capable of again.

Callan added: “I was diagnosed when I was 20, I was living in London and I was working at the time, so it completely changed my life direction. It’s been a roller-coaster, but I always feel like I’m so privileged because with these charities like the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, it’s turned something really negative and given me a silver lining, so I really appreciate it.”

Dame Ellen MacArthur, the trust’s founder and patron, concludes: “We hear it a lot, that for many young people what happens after treatment can be as difficult as, if not even more so, than the treatment itself. Receiving funding from People’s Postcode Lottery has been a game changer in enabling us to reach and have a positive impact on the lives of many hundreds of these young people over the past decade.

“We know the impact the trust has on the mental wellbeing of young people living through and beyond cancer. Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, more and more will get the support they need to believe in a brighter future.”

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust was founded by the record-breaking round-the-world yachtswoman in 2003. It is there for anyone who is struggling or could simply do with a bit of support, however long off treatment they are. Visit ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org or follow @emctrust on social media to find out more about the trust.