The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Angus teenager speaks out about her life battling cancer
HEALTH: Brave Elita, 13, tells how sailing trips were a lifeline for her
An Angus girl who was diagnosed with cancer when she was 10 has spoken out about her experiences of the illness.
Brave Elita MacFarlane, now aged 13, was told she had renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer, in 2015.
At a time when children her age were looking forward to secondary school, Elita began gruelling treatment at Ninewells Hospital.
The teenager has not let her illness hold her back and has taken part in sailing trips on the Firth of Clyde with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.
She has now finished treatment after relapsing in 2018, and wants to share her story as part of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, taking place throughout September.
Elita said: “I felt horrible during the treatment.
“Nothing can prepare you for it. I’ve had a relapse and knowing what treatment was like from the last time actually made it worse.
“I found out that my cancer had returned just before Christmas last year so it ruined Christmas for me and all the get-togethers that friends had.
“I did feel a bit left out seeing my friends having fun without me but I was too sore most of the time to care.
“My close friends were very supportive and understanding.”
She added: “I’m worried all the time that the cancer will come back again soon.”
The sailing trips have proven a lifeline for Elita and she has been on four so far, as part of the Return to Sail programme for young people aged eight to 24 to help them adjust to life after cancer.
Elita said: “I also love the sailing trips. We always get on to the topic of cancer and it’s good to hear other people’s stories.
“Everyone knows what it’s like. You’re not different there, you’re normal.”