World Snooker Team up with Teenage Cancer Trust
World Snooker has announced that the Teenage Cancer Trust has become one of its official charities.
Teenage Cancer Trust builds specialist units in NHS hospitals where young people with cancer can be treated with others their own age in a positive environment.
To mark this relationship, World Snooker has invited teenage snooker player Jack Lisowski, who recently underwent treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, to the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship, where he will present the Junior Pot Black trophy.
The 17-year-old from Churchdown near Cheltenham battled the disease for almost a year, but is now in remission and was recently able to return to playing snooker.
"When I first found out I had cancer, I was petrified," said Lisowski. "Then it sinks in and you realise you have to fight it. I was lucky to have my family around me. I had chemotherapy 16 times over an eight-month period. You've got to experience it to know what it's like. It knocked me down and I constantly felt sick.
"At the time I was diagnosed, I had just left school and was ready to start snooker as my main career. One of the first things I thought of was that I would have to quit snooker. Once the chemo was finished, I still had to go through radiotherapy, but I was able to start playing again, which felt brilliant."
Remarkably, within two months of resuming regular practice, Lisowski reached the final of a tournament on the sport's secondary circuit, the Pontin's International Open Series, and also reached the semi-finals of the European Under-19 Championship.
"My game is back to where it was when I was diagnosed," he said. "I am mentally stronger as a player now because whenever I get frustrated with my game, I remind myself that there's a lot more to life.
"I'm delighted that World Snooker has chosen Teenage Cancer Trust as one of its official charities, as hopefully this will help to raise awareness. Cancer can affect people of all ages so if you have any doubts, go to your GP. I found a lump on my shoulder one day so I went straight to my doctor, and the next day I was diagnosed."
Junior Pot Black is staged each year during the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship, with the best up-and-coming under-16s from around the UK and Ireland competing for the title. The final will be played on Thursday, April 23 in the Crucible arena. Lisowski, who was Junior Pot Black runner-up in 2007, will then present the trophy to the winner.
Simon Davies, Chief Executive of Teenage Cancer Trust, said: "We are very excited to be working with World Snooker. Their support will be a great benefit to many young cancer patients, helping Teenage Cancer Trust to raise awareness of this often-neglected group. So far we have built enough units within NHS hospitals for half of young people diagnosed with cancer to have access to the dedicated, specialist support they need. Our aim is to build enough units so that, by 2012, every single teenager will be treated on one."
Each day in the UK, six teenagers will find out they have cancer - that is almost 2,000 new diagnoses every year. These young people often get a raw deal, receiving hospital treatment in inappropriate facilities catering for children or the elderly.
Teenage Cancer Trust understands that teenage cancer requires specialist care and knows that young people have a much better chance in their fight against cancer if they are treated by teenage cancers experts, in an environment tailored to their needs. So the charity is working every day to make that happen, building specialist units in NHS hospitals.
Teenage Cancer Trust units aren't like ordinary cancer wards. Everything about them has been designed to give teenagers the very best chance of a positive outcome. The charity estimates that, with the units they currently have around the UK, around half of teenagers diagnosed with cancer now have access to the dedicated, specialist support they provide. But Teenage Cancer Trust's aim is to build enough units so that, by 2012, every teenager will be treated on one.
The Weston Park Teenage Cancer Trust unit in Sheffield opened in 2002 and has five beds. Teenage Cancer Trust also funded the development of a new conservatory extension for the unit which opened in September 2007.
Jack Lisowski is currently competing in the Pontin's Junior Festival in the 16-20 age group. Check out all the results here.
Visit Teenage Cancer Trust website.
