An 18-year-old Aberdeen girl has featured in a charity video to share her experiences after her father passed away.
Sarah Fraser, from Dyce, agreed to take part in the latest video from cancer support charity CLAN, to tell people about the support she has had from the Aberdeen-based organisation.
Sarah’s father Garry was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018, and Sarah went along to CLAN for support with her mum and dad. The family were informed of the Children and Family Service offered by CLAN, which provides emotional and wellbeing support for children and young people affected by cancer. Sarah was struggling to understand her emotions surrounding her dad’s diagnosis and was experiencing difficulty coping with the impact of his illness.
Sarah and Garry shared a love of swimming and had a very close relationship. Sarah has competed since a young age, and her father was actively involved in her swimming career and became a timekeeper and judge for Scottish Swimming.
Kellie Strachan, children and family’s practitioner at CLAN, met with Sarah at her school, and at Sarah’s request facilitated a discussion with Sarah’s friends to help them understand what their friend was going through.
CLAN has produced a series of videos throughout the year, featuring people who have been supported by the charity and who wanted to give something back by sharing their experiences. Sarah and her mum were keen to be involved. The video, which has been produced in partnership with Hydrasun, is shared on social media and the charity’s website, to give clarity around what CLAN can offer to individuals impacted by cancer and to encourage anyone affected to access CLAN for support.
Sarah said: “I am so grateful to CLAN for their help from the time my dad was diagnosed with cancer, through his treatment, and subsequently when he passed away. Kellie has helped me understand my feelings and emotions and realise that my reactions were normal. We meet regularly and I can talk to Kellie about anything - I can release my emotions and have a cry, but we also talk about normal things like holidays and parties.
“CLAN has helped me cope with what has happened but also supported me moving forward. When it comes to moments in the future when my dad won’t be there to celebrate with me, like birthdays and events like graduating and getting married, I know CLAN will be there to support me.”
Now a member of CLAN’s Young Ambassador group, Sarah is helping at fundraising events and encouraging other young people to seek support from CLAN if they are affected by cancer.
Iona Mitchell, head of cancer support services at CLAN, commented: “We are so grateful to Sarah and the other courageous and generous individuals who have featured in our campaign videos throughout the last 12 months. Facing a cancer diagnosis is devastating, and children and young people particularly can experience real difficulty making sense of the complex emotions that may arise.
“Our trained and skilled practitioners offer a dedicated, confidential service providing a safe space where they can explore their emotions. We aim to provide tailored support to children and young people to empower them to develop coping strategies, increase their understanding of their emotions and improve relationships and communication which in turn goes a long way to engender resilience at a time of adversity. Cancer can be very isolating, and we help families to communicate and understand each other’s needs.”
Sarah’s video can be seen at www.clanhouse.org
Based in Aberdeen, the charity covers the whole of north-east Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland. CLAN has a presence in Ballater, Banchory, Buckie, Crimond, Elgin, Inverurie, Lossiemouth, Turriff, Kirkwall and Lerwick.
For more information about CLAN, please contact CLAN on 01224 647000 or visit: https://clanhouse.org/
Sarah Fraser