College beckons for determined Bethan

DETERMINED: Bethan Curran sat her GCSEs at The Christie

PLUCKY Oldham teenager Bethan Curran can finally look forward to starting Oldham College next month - after taking all her GCSE exams at the Christie hospital.

The brave 16 year old was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer after complaining of pain and swelling in her leg, and became one of the first people to stay in one of the new “teenage” bedrooms at the hospital’s Palatine Treatment Centre in Didsbury, this week celebrating its first anniversary.

Bethan passed all her GCSEs, despite living at the centre since January.

She said: “It was such a shock to hear the words ‘cancer’ and the thought of going into hospital was very daunting. The centre was amazing though — the rooms are so comfortable and designed specifically for teenagers and young people.

“Chemotherapy can make you feel really unwell so feeling comfortable in your surroundings is really important. The open-plan social spaces are great too — I’ve met a lot of other patients and made good friends.”

Bethan, who is about to start her final cycle of chemotherapy after having 95 per cent of her tumour removed, is looking forward to starting college in September.

She added: “I was worried I would miss out on my exams because I was in hospital. It was such a relief when the nurse told me I could take them in the unit. I even had teachers coming in to do teaching sessions with me. I couldn’t be more grateful to the Christie for helping me get better and helping me to get a college place

Over the past 12 months, around 1,740 patients have received treatment and 111 stem cell transplants have been carried out at the £12million centre, which includes teenage and young adult (TYA) cancer services and the haematology and transplant inpatient unit (HTU).

twitter: @DawnMarsdenOC