JTV Cancer Support is a project for teenagers and young adults who have been affected by cancer. Using all aspects of media it enables young people to explore and express their feelings, and make some sense of their very personal journeys from diagnosis onwards.
JTV Cancer Support is only able to deliver its services due to it’s special partnership with Teenage Cancer Trust who have primarily funded JTV Cancer Support for over ten years and now Teenage Cancer Trust funds the project 100%.
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The project was originally started in 2005 by Mark Wilkinson and the staff of Leeds St. James’ Hospital Teenage Cancer Trust Ward (hence the name jimmyteens.tv) after seeing the benefits of creating video diaries with a young woman who had a terminal diagnosis. These diaries were later used to create the Royal Television Society award winning BBC documentary ‘To Courtney with Love’, directed by Mark Wilkinson.
This initial pilot in Leeds created an enormous amount of interest and the project went from strength to strength. It is now established in all major treatment centres across the United Kingdom.
All the films made by the project are available to view on the JTV website which currently holds over a thousand films. The website currently attracts between two and four thousand unique visitors per week.
The impact of the JTV project has been astounding and the benefits have out weighed any of the initial expectations. As well as giving young people an avenue and voice to express and share their feelings, worries and frustrations, it has grown into a essential resource for families, friends and professionals who use the site to understand the medical and emotional effects that a diagnosis of cancer can have.
In 2010 the work of JTV was recognised by winning the Pfizer “Excellence in Oncology – Best Charitable Initiative” award.
In May 2014 the name was changed from jimmyteens.tv to jtvcancersupport.com.