Hope Valley cancer survivor Rosa Coker Burnett inspired by yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur's charity

Rosa Coker Burnett was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia just as she was starting secondary school aged 11.

She relapsed 10 months later, before undergoing a stem cell transplant and two knee replacements.

Rosa told her story at a gala in London where solo round-the-world sailor Dame Ellen, who comes from Whatstandwell near Matlock, laid out new three-year ambitions for her Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.

The charity supports young people aged eight to 24 in rebuilding their confidence after cancer.

When treatment ends the trust’s work begins. For many young people like Rosa, simply picking up where they left off before their diagnosis isn’t possible.

Building stronger relationships with, and making a greater long-term difference to, more young people in recovery from cancer sit at the heart of the charity’s document Better Connections, Bigger Impact – Our Ambitions for 2020-22 that Rosa helped launch at the event at the Royal Society of Medicine.

After being introduced by Dame Ellen, who founded the charity in 2003, the ambitions set out in the document were unveiled by young people who have been supported by the trust in recovery, parents, trustees, volunteers and skippers.

Now 24, Rosa said she is not sure her younger self would recognise the person she has become, having moved four-and-a-half hours away from home for university, integrating into a new city and making new friends.

Games help children cope with pain

She recently gained a distinction for her masters degree in international security and now works for the police. She said: “Being a teenager, as we all know, is difficult enough, without juggling the rounds of chemotherapy and still trying to attend school.

“The stares people gave you, the whispering behind your back, you always knew you would be the topic of conversation.

“With the trust no-one cares. Every year I have come back for the friendships, activities and the chance to leave everything behind at home.

“It is an environment for which you don’t have to explain yourself or your background.

“Cancer might be the thing bringing us together, but for once it doesn’t have to be the main topic of conversation.

“The trust gave me confidence to be independent, outgoing and not to care what people think. It has transformed my future. Now I’m the girl that says yes to opportunities.”

Through sailing and other UK-wide adventure activities, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust supports, inspires and empowers young people to embrace their future with optimism after treatment for cancer.

Since 2015, Rosa has volunteered every year for the trust, joining sailing and residential adventure trips to support young people in recovery.

In 2019 she won the Trust’s Luke Gilbert Volunteer of the Year Award, in recognition of the difference she has made to so many young lives.

Y oung people are initially invited to take part in a four-day sailing trip on yachts in the Solent on the south coast or on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, which are run throughout the summer holidays.

They are all about having fun and regaining a sense of independence, says the charity.

Crewing on board a 45-foot boat with other young people in the same situation allows them to feel normal again - it’s seen as the perfect blend of empowerment, challenge, and distraction, as Rosa found.

After the initial trip, the trust annually invites young people back to take part in other sailing events until they are 24, building up a relationship with them.

After that the charity will train those, like Rosa, who are interested so they can return as volunteers to help on the trips.

Dame Ellen has said in the past that “sailing is just a vehicle” for helping young people to rebuild their confidence and re-engage with the world following their treatment.

She added: “It’s about regaining your life. The joy of the trust trips is overwhelming, there are always transformations.”

Dame Ellen opened the evening by celebrating the charity’s achievements before looking forward to the future.

She said: “We have achieved a huge amount since 2003. Most notably, by the end of last year, 2,455 young people had been supported in rebuilding their confidence after cancer through the trust.

“We are so proud of the impact the trust has had on so many young lives. But there is still so much more we could be doing.

“Young people we could be supporting. Lives we could be changing. That is what drives our ambitions for 2020-2022.

“By the time our 20th anniversary arrives in 2023, we want to know we are more efficient, sustainable and confident in the difference we are making to more young lives than ever before.”

For more information visit www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org, where the ambitions document can be downloaded.