Hi, my name is Wayne Cherry, On Valentines day 2008 I was diagnosed with T Cell Lymphoma cancer in Wellington hospital and I was immediately rushed away to Christchurch hospital. It was a big shock and I really did not understand what was happening to me, cancer was something I thought that happened to old people and they died of it! I was very fit and active before cancer, doing motocross, running and swimming; now I could hardly walk up a couple of stairs.
A few days after arriving at Christchurch hospital, in came a lady with a bag of goodies, 'smellies', lollies and a DVD to watch, that was my first intro to CanTeen, and it was awesome to talk to someone that knew how I was feeling, my family and friends were great, but they had no idea what it felt like to have this life threatening disease as well as all the effects of the chemotherapy and all the tests I was having.
I have had cancer for quite a while now, I have spent a lot of that time in either Christchurch or Wellington hospital, initially I couldn't understand why I had caught this old person's disease, Why me? But its not just me, there so many kids and teenagers with some sort cancer it's unbelievable, most weeks I see a new family being diagnosed with cancer and to see the patient and their family go through the initial realisation that the life of someone so young can or will be lost, it is incredible.
I am so wrapped that the charter of rights for young people with cancer has been developed. Throughout my illness I have had lots of support and have always felt respected for who I am. To me it is essential that young cancer patients like me are not treated like babies or old people. We have needs unique to our age group and we will cope with the bad stuff a whole lot better if we are treated as far as possible like normal teenagers.