Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: youth-led charity supports young cancer patients

Timothy Chan Chi-fung was 19 when a testicular tumour sent him into a Hong Kong hospital system largely designed for children or much older adults.

Neither door quite fitted. His experience eventually led him to found Youth Cancer Hong Kong, a contribution that has earned him a place as a finalist in the community category of this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards.

The awards, co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post, were launched in 2013 to recognise individuals and organisations whose work contributes to Hong Kong and its communities.

Chan was diagnosed in 2019 with a mixed germ cell tumour of the testis. He underwent surgery within two weeks of his diagnosis, followed by two cycles of chemotherapy. He lost his hair and his studies at university were interrupted. But he eventually recovered.

Now in his sixth year of follow-up checks, Chan, now 26, is pursuing a master’s degree in psychology at the University of Hong Kong and is determined to become a clinical psychologist working with people affected by cancer.

Youth Cancer Hong Kong grew out of accounts Chan posted online about his diagnosis, treatment and the lack of people his age to talk to. Other young patients began writing to him, and those exchanges prompted them to form a mutual support group, Stars of Life, in July 2022.

A year later, Youth Cancer Hong Kong was registered as a charity.

Today, its community numbers about 400 to 500 people who were diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 39, with at least 10 newcomers joining the group each month, often through Instagram.

The city recorded 4,579 new cancer cases among a similar age group – 20 to 40 – in 2023, according to the Hospital Authority’s Hong Kong Cancer Registry.

“The most fundamental support is that you are not alone,” he said.

At gatherings, conversations can be strikingly direct. “What cancer have you got? Which chemo? Which targeted drug? Which doctor? These are subjects that families may find painful to hear repeatedly, while fellow patients understand them immediately,” Chan said.

The group relies largely on donations from patients and families who have used its services. About 28 volunteers, including doctors, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, students and a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, support its work.

Peer support is a major part of that work, pairing new patients with people who have been through similar experiences.

Clinicians also translate overseas information on adolescent and young adult cancer, including fertility issues, which can become an urgent concern when chemotherapy threatens future plans for children.

Public education is another major strand of their work. Through school talks where young patients share their personal experiences directly with participants and an exhibition at Central Market, topics that are rarely discussed openly are brought into public conversation.

Chan has also spoken at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s medical faculty for three consecutive years. The sessions give future doctors an opportunity to meet patients close to their own age and consider how best to communicate with them.

“If you have been the patient, you talk differently,” he said.

His longer-term hope is for Hong Kong to establish dedicated youth cancer support as part of the public healthcare system, bringing psychological, fertility and social services together.

Turning 18, he said, did not suddenly make someone an adult with different needs.

Youth Cancer Hong Kong also supports families when members die. Chan often returns to an idea from the 2017 American film Coco – that people finally disappear when they are forgotten.

“For as long as you remember what they changed in you, they’re still around,” he said.