When I lost Margaux I found the Teenage Cancer trust

Diane Freedman knew nothing about teenage cancer eight years ago, but when her daughter Margaux was diagnosed with a form of the disease at the age of 18 she learned the importance of the work of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The teenager, who lost her battle with bone cancer osteosarcoma when she was 19, was initially treated at Bristol Oncology Centre alongside patients 60 years older than her.

Margaux had just finished her A-levels, had a place at university and was about to go travelling in her gap year, but her mother said she was on a ward with women who had already led their lives.

Diane, 52, said: "Her fellow patients were 60 to 70 years older than her and had led full lives, had very different attitudes and were more resigned to their fate. Margaux was just beginning her life but after her diagnosis she was separated from her peers, believed she was the only teenager in the world suffering from cancer and felt completely isolated and fell into the deepest depression.

"That was not a reflection on the clinical care Margaux received at Bristol, it was just not the most appropriate environment."

Because Diane, of Frome, was working in London at the time and had an address in the capital, Margaux was referred to the Teenage Cancer Trust ward at The Middlesex Hospital, which was better suited to her needs.

Diane, a sales director, said: "I got the very best help for Margaux and that is really what I needed. That is what Bristol needs and that is why I will be speaking at the launch. "It brings teenagers together in an environment where both their physiological and psychological and psychological needs."

Diane, who also has a son Oliver, 25, and daughter Odette, 24, became a trustee of Teenage Cancer Trust six years ago.