Jake shares his cancer journey
A 21-year-old supermarket worker from Sunderland has shared his story on battling cancer after he was diagnosed as a student aged 19.
Jake Adams, from Houghton-le-Spring,wasdiagnosed with brain cancer while studying sports journalism at University of Sunderland.
The student has since undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy to remove the tumour and has shared ‘the need’ for support from friends and family.
Jake, who works at Sainsburys in Washington, says having the support of others helped him through intensive chemotherapyandtreatment.
He said: “I was in state of shock when I was diagnosed butIgrewtoacceptitandstarted to focus on getting rid of it.
"It was hard telling people that I had cancer because people just didn’t know what to say and it was difficult for friends to know what to talk to me about.”
During treatment, the Arsenal football fan met another cancer patient through Twitter after sharing some advice on chemotherapy he was un
dergoing.
He said: “I met Ash through social media and we ended up having loads in common, he lives in Stevenage but also supports Arsenal.
"I didn’t realise how essential is was to be able to talk to someone going through the samething,wesupportedeach other through treatment. It was nice to have someone who fully understood.”
After undergoing treatment during the pandemic Jake, who attended Biddick Academy, received the news in September that he is ‘tumour free’.
Jake, who has been gifted a named plaque at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, added: “It can be extremely isolating,
particularly through the pandemic as I had to attend appointments alone at a young age but I can’t thank my familyandfriendsenoughforsupporting me through a really difficult period of my life.”
The supermarket worker is now supporting a new Teenage Cancer Trust campaign by sharing his experiences and tips on how to be a good friend to someone with cancer.
He said: “Anyone watching their friend go through something like cancer should ask howtheirfriendisfeeling,createconversationsandtrytoget them to open up.
“The support I’ve received fromtheTeenageCancerTrust has been fantastic and I can’t thank them enough.”