Breast Cancer Awareness Month
A breast cancer survivor from Redcar’s told TFM children affected by the disease must be given the support they need.
Social worker Sarah Mendoza has been speaking out as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The 45-year-old has two daughters and she told us there wasn’t any services to help them cope with her diagnosis.
She runs Paint C Out, which helps children forget about the cancer in their lives using art therapy and creative hobbies.
Support groups for children aren’t generally permitted due to paediatrician licencing, but Sarah says that needs to change.
The mum of two wants to set up a unit, where children affected by the condition can talk to other children in the same situation.
She said:
“As a cancer patient myself, I can turn to anyone and I can go into a private room and I can discuss things.
Where kids are concerned, it’s just you.
I think it should be more that children should be more involved and have a say, because they become the carers.”
During her treatment, Sarah took daughter Sophia to hundreds of red carpet film premieres in Leicester Square to distract her.
She has photographs with over 400 celebrities, including Leonardo Di Caprio and Jennifer Aniston.
Every year nearly 55,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK, the equivalent of one person every 10 minutes
You can follow Sarah’s project Paint C Out on Twitter HERE.