It started with backache and a loss of appetite.
But when Owen Taylor started to vomit blood, he knew there was something very wrong.
It was just before New Year 2017 when Owen was taken ill and ended up in hospital.
He was quickly transferred to The Christie, in Withington, where he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. At the time Owen was just 22.
Owen, a gardener at Tatton Park, began seven sessions of chemotherapy treatment.
He then underwent an eight-hour operation to remove the tumour, as well as an additional lump found which doctors had discovered on his kidney.
Though he found chemotherapy difficult, Owen has a two-week break between sessions, allowing him to leave the hospital.
“It’s when you feel sick and everything,” he says. “You’ve got appetite loss, it makes your mouth taste funny.”
But Owen, 24, says he felt supported by his faith during his treatment: “I wore this cross round my neck the whole time, because I go to church and I’m a believer in God. I kept saying, hour after hour, ‘Lord, please help me’. And it actually helped.”
Two years later and Owen, from Stockport, now feels more optimistic for his future after enjoying the sailing trip off the west coast of Scotland with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.
Launched in 2003, the charity helps to rebuild confidence after cancer using sailing to support, empower and inspire young people.
Arriving in Largs for the Trust’s sailing trip, Owen felt the benefit of being around other young people who had also experienced cancer.
“You feel like you’re not the only one in the world who’s been through it, when other people here are in the same boat as you are,” he says.
Charity bosses say many young people in recovery suffer unseen mental and emotional after-effects after dealing with cancer.
They may miss out on education, miss exams or leave jobs whilst having treatment.
Some are crippled by shyness after missing day-to-day interactions, get left behind as their friends grow up or face the anger of so-called ‘survivor guilt’.
The Trust provides long-term support to young people so they can re-engage with education, employment and relationships.
There are 31 trips scheduled between June and September, both on water and at outdoor activity centres across the country.
Owen says anyone considering coming on a trip should “definitely use the opportunity while you’re given it.
“I would strongly recommend it.”
He adds that he was convinced to come on the trip by his life’s mantra: “When an opportunity knocks, open the door, because it will not knock a second time.”
If you know someone who could benefit from a trip with the Trust visit the website here.
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