A new web series is aiming to support adolescents impacted by cancer, with a Melton resident playing a role in its creation and attending its launch last week.
Launched by national children’s cancer charity Camp Quality, Bloom is a five-part web series that was officially launched this month.
According to Camp Quality, until now, there has been a significant gap in school-based cancer education for teens aged 12–16 years, despite this group facing unique and complex challenges.
Melton resident and Canteen ambassador Nate Stickland, who was on the advisory committee for the web series, said Bloom covers the experience of different people going through cancer treatment and the journey that comes with being diagnosed with cancer.
“[It goes] through the experience of different family members and the different people around the main character going through the experience,” Mr Stickland said.
“As a child, I myself was diagnosed with cancer and am still on treatment to this day – it’s been 12 years to this year – so the amount of effort that the team put in to making sure that the series was accurate as it could be really moved me and everyone else involved who had gone through that.
“The series itself is the most accurate representation of the experience that we’ve ever seen on film.”
Mr Stickland attended the launch of the series at ACMI on Tuesday, September 9, and spoke on a panel about his experience of cancer as a teenager, alongside paediatric oncologist Dr Matthew O’Connor and Camp Quality chief executive Deborah Thomas.
Bloom is available now online as a free download with accompanying teacher resources for schools that would like to include it in cancer education.
Details: campquality.org.au
