CATTs (Cancer Awareness for Teens and Twenties)

Who we are

Here at CATTs, our aim is to make sure every young person knows the common signs and symptoms of cancer. 14 young people (15-29) are diagnosed every day in the UK, and although this number equates to a low percentage of cases of cancer in the UK are in young people, we believe everyone should know the signs and symptoms and what to look out for. We promotion positive practices of good health such as feeling empowered in your own body and confident in going to a doctor, all with the hope to reduce incidences of late diagnosis.

CATTs started out at The University of Manchester in 2014 when medicine student James Adams realised that the students around him were not clued up on the signs and symptoms of cancer. From his own lived experience of cancer and knowledge of the subject, he set up CATS (Cancer Awareness in Teenagers and Young Peopel Society) as a student-led society hosting events that would attract attention, and in turn increase awareness in a less conventional way, for example, working with medicine students to increase their awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer, for themselves and to take into their future practice with young patients. This structure then fed-out into several universities across the UK, which still exist today.

We believe in information that is presented in an informal way without any clinical language, that is easy for anyone to understand. Cancer does not discriminate, and neither do we. Our messages are short and sweet, if it does not fit on a coaster it’s too much information. We don’t believe in an overload of messages, and that way young people take away the key information they need to remember and act upon.

We are youth-led, allowing our volunteers to play a huge role in shaping the work we do. As well as our 9 university teams across the country, we are moving into new areas to increase awareness in other groups of young people, such as delivering workshops to workplaces and working with NCS students.