A CANCER survivor has set sail towards a brighter future after spending four days on the water.
Nicole Lowther, who is living through and beyond cancer, says "all my worries went away" after she spent four days sailing with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust in Largs.
Nicole, who is from Queenzieburn, was just 17 when she was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin lymphoma.
Now 21, the sailing trip with the Trust, which took place from June 13 to 16, is the first she's been on since finishing her treatment.
Nicole said: "I just didn’t know what to expect, and I have terrible seasickness, so I was very anxious before coming along.
"But it was fine. I had my bands and my medicine, and taking the helm keeps your mind occupied."
The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust inspires young people, from ages eight to 24, to believe in a future beyond cancer and help them pick up where they left off before diagnosis.
Nicole was one of 11 young people who spent last week on the water.
She said: "I didn’t feel like I needed it before coming along, but now I know I needed it.
"It was nice to meet people who have been out of treatment for a few years, because you’re speaking to people who are in their careers and things like that.
"It was really amazing to see we have lives now that aren’t just hospitals.
"No one spoke about treatment or where we were treated.
"I found that so refreshing, it was just so different.
"It was about rediscovering skills and socialising with people who have this common ground that you didn’t need to talk about."
Through the trust's sailing and outdoor activities, young people meet others who have had similar experiences, rediscover independence away from home, experience an increased sense of purpose and self-worth, and most importantly stop feeling like the "only one".
Dame Ellen MacArthur, the Trust’s founder and patron, said: "We hear it a lot, that for many young people what happens after treatment can be as difficult as, if not even more so, than the treatment itself.
"Receiving funding from People’s Postcode Lottery has been a game-changer in enabling us to reach and have a positive impact on the lives of many hundreds of these young people over the past decade.
"We know the impact the Trust has on the mental wellbeing of young people living through and beyond cancer.
"Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, more and more will get the support they need to believe in a brighter future."
The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust was founded by the record-breaking round-the-world yachtswoman in 2003 and is there for anyone who is struggling or could simply do with a bit of support, however long off treatment they are.
You can find out more at ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org or by following @emctrust on social media.
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