ANNUAL REPORT JULY 2016 - JUNE 2017

1

2 CanTeen membership

3 Who we are

5 President’s report

6 CEO report

8 Member Services

10 Ensuring no young person faces cancer alone

12 CanTeen paves the way

14 Reducing long term impact of cancer

16 Improving survival outcomes

18 Delivering an enhanced service

20 Maximising our leadership potential

22 Looking to the future

23 Financial statements

27 Thank you

Contents

2

CanTeen membershipIn 2016-2017 CanTeen supported more young people (13-24 years) than ever before,

helping them to reduce the impact of cancer on their lives.

NEW MEMBER REFERRALS

Patient140 Sibling58 Offspring78 Bereaved Offspring27Bereaved

Sibling14

Of the estimated 180 young people diagnosed with cancer each year, in 2016-2017 CanTeen supported 77% of them.

MEMBERSHIP 4 YEAR TREND 2013-2014

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

All membership categories have grown year on year over past four years.

923

Patient Sibling OffspringBereaved Sibling

Bereaved Offspring

768

529

177

240

782

541

187

59

0

837

567

184

111

58

625

201

136

72

MEMBERSHIP BREAKDOWN

Bereaved Offspring - 72

Patient - 923

Sibling - 625

Bereaved Sibling - 201

Offspring - 136

47%42%

11%

This year 26 CanTeen members were lost to cancer.

3

Who we are

Cancer is traumatic for anyone but if you’re a young person already dealing with school, work, relationships and identity it can really mess you up. It’s hard to find someone who understands what you’re going through. At CanTeen we get it. As the only organisation dedicated to supporting 13-24 year olds dealing with cancer we help young people cope with the practical, emotional and physical challenges of living with cancer, helping them find their feet in a time filled with uncertainty.

One to one support

No two experiences are the same when you’re suddenly faced with cancer. We take care of the individual needs of the young person, from individual and small group counselling and one to one support by a CanTeen Youth Support Coordinator, to tailored psycho-social programmes to cope with grief and loss, and to build emotional resilience.

Peer support

The best way to support young people dealing with cancer is by connecting them with other young people who know the challenges and impact that cancer has.

Research shows that ‘peer support’ makes coping with cancer easier and directly reduces the long-term impact of cancer in a young person’s life. At CanTeen, everyone is dealing with the same thing and can help each other through.

Skills for life and tools for every day

Sometimes dealing with life after cancer is the hardest journey of all. CanTeen provides access to skills development, educational grants and wellbeing programmes to help young people get their lives back on track and to reduce the long term impact of cancer on their lives. Across the country, young people at CanTeen have access to leadership opportunities that increase self-worth and confidence, from using their own cancer experience to help others, to being part of the national leadership group and, ultimately, representing the voice of the membership on the CanTeen board.

CanTeen’s services are available free of charge to any young person who needs them, with fourteen branches around New Zealand.

CanTeen helps young people enjoy life, as it is right now

CanTeen members and staff celebrating a successful REAL

4

Listen Up participants Jess Moorby and Kerry Heffer with CanTeen President Lucy at the AYA Standards of Care launch

5

President’s report

As a member of CanTeen, you often have moments where you feel inspired and proud; experiences that leave you crying both happy and sad tears; experiences that make you feel empowered, grateful and humbled all at once. In the middle of the year, attending a ‘reflection’ day reminded me just why CanTeen is such an incredible organisation.

As I sat in a room surrounded by members, I listened to them. I listened to them cry and laugh and talk about how cancer had made their lives better. How cancer has made their relationships more meaningful, their mana and strength more infallible. I sat in a room surrounded by young people aged between 13 and 24 years old and was reminded of the beauty of life, of the pain of loss and the strength you can find in the face of hardship. I sat on the floor with a snotty nose and red eyes and felt overwhelmingly grateful. Grateful to be part of an organisation that does this for these people.

However, what we know is that these young people need us to speak up, to show them how to speak up, because New Zealand’s Adolescent and Young Adults (AYA) survival rates don’t stack up in comparison to our international peers and we want to change that. I am proud to say in the past twelve months CanTeen has made a significant impact in this area.

CanTeen has been heavily involved in shaping the AYA Cancer Patients Standards of Care which have been developed to give guidance to how young people with cancer should be treated. As these standards become embedded in the practice of medical professionals across the country, we hope we will start to see progress towards better survival rates for all young people in New Zealand, regardless of race, location or age.

This year has also seen us increase our connection with CanTeen Australia, a relationship which we believe will have real benefit, as sharing our knowledge, our resources and our research can only lead to positive outcomes in the support of young people.

Finally, the progress we have made towards developing a member leadership structure and relevant leadership training is massive. Young people are the soul of CanTeen and our involvement at every level of the organisation is what ensures CanTeen reflects the needs of its membership.

These past twelve months have seen CanTeen take some huge steps toward creating a bright and stable future. I cannot wait to see what next year brings for our membership and the young people we are yet to reach.

Lucy Coombes CanTeen National President

Lucy Coombes with Susie Robertson, Regional Manager Central

6

The past year has been full of challenge and change. New national programmes have been implemented, our scope of youth work has been extended and enhanced, and National Office has been restructured to reduce overheads and administration.

The decision at last year’s AGM to include young people who have a parent with cancer or who have lost a parent to cancer has seen a 10% growth in our membership (208 new members), with increased referrals through hospices and schools and a larger number of referrals from more rural areas, where traditionally our membership numbers have been low. Within this group, specific support to deal with grief and loss, and mental health concerns are delivered through programmes like REAL, and local branch peer support groups.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the commitment of Member Services, in particular the Youth Support Coordinators who work with passion and dedication alongside the young people we support. This year has been challenging as our staff (through professional development) and services have adapted to support the needs of young people who have a parent with cancer or who have lost a parent to cancer.

Eighteen months ago we introduced a practice framework for our service delivery that prioritised young people in greatest need at times of diagnosis, treatment and getting life back on track. This shift has allowed us to increase the number of young people we support and to ensure our resources are targeted where there is the greatest need. This growth has seen us go from providing 967 one-to-one sessions with a Youth Support Coordinator in 2014-2015, to 3824 in 2016-2017.

Advocacy has been at the forefront this year for CanTeen with the ongoing success of the Listen Up group and their participation in the development and launch of Standards of Care for the Service Provision for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Patients in New Zealand. Working alongside the Ministry of Health has raised the profile of CanTeen as a key partner in addressing New Zealand’s lower survival outcomes for youth cancer.

Our success as an organisation comes from the strength of the staff. It is important for me to acknowledge: Bruce Pilbrow, who resigned as CEO in November, for his energy and drive in leading CanTeen through a period of significant change; Finance Director, Kelvin McAnulty; and People Office and Culture Manager. Gill Williams who also left CanTeen during the year.

With Bruce’s departure in November 2016, I took over as Acting Chief Executive, and was appointed to the permanent role at the June 2017 board meeting. With the departure of some senior leaders, we have secured Deb Elsbury as Business Services Manager and Debbie Thomson has returned as General Manager, Marketing and Fundraising. Together our focus has been to rebuild the team and focus on developing a culture of respect, participation and professionalism.

Marketing and Fundraising have worked tirelessly and made significant changes to our fundraising operations that will increase our ability to generate income, improve efficiency and enable better engagement with our donors and supporters.

This year’s financial position, while still in deficit, is $187,525 ahead of budget showing a deficit of $169,475. This is in part due to a more strategic approach to expenditure and reduced overhead costs, but also due to the delayed investment in new income streams. Some of this underspend will be reinvested in the 2017-2018 year.

CEO report

7

A special mention goes to Anna Hocquard who resigned from the Board after five years. Anna has been CanTeen President, a member of the MAC, President of Manawatu Branch and for the past two years she has been a patient representative on the Ministry of Health’s AYA Governance Group. Anna has spearheaded the development of the Listen Up group and has been a strong advocate for the voice of young people living with cancer.

I would also like to recognise the Board

Dion Mortensen (Chairman)Lucy Coombes (President)Anna O‘Grady (Vice President)Greg RunnerstrumMark WinstanleyHaley ThomasRegan King

We are a dedicated team and we have an exciting year ahead as we focus on the development of sustainable income through regular giving and the acquisition of new income streams, and the creation of a new five year organisational strategy to increase our reach and impact through engagement with young people, families, schools and community groups.

It is a pleasure and a privilege to be CEO of CanTeen and to lead the team as we work together to ensure that no young person faces cancer alone.

Claudine Young CEO CanTeen

2013-2014

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

Young people dealing with a parent’s cancer has more than doubled in two years.

OffspringBereaved Offspring

240

59

0

111

58

136

72

One-to-one support and counselling by a CanTeen Youth Support Coordinator has quadrupled in two years.

2014-2015 2016-2017

3824

967

8

Listen Up group attending the launch of AYA Standards of Care. CanTeen Listen Up Advocacy Group, member and Paralympian Bryall McPherson, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and CanTeen member Noah Lockett-Turton holding the AYA Standards of Care.

9

Three years ago we embarked on a strategy to transform the support provided to young people, with a vision to ‘Improve the lives of young people living with cancer through world class support, information and advocacy’.

We wanted to:

• Know what we do makes a difference and to demonstrate our impact

• Increase support to young people at their times of greatest need, ie diagnosis, treatment and getting life back on track after cancer

• Focus on cancer and overcoming the challenges it presents

• Be at the forefront of youth work practice, focusing on positive youth development and achieving the best outcomes for young people

• Lead in youth participation

• Ensure that the voice of young people living with cancer was heard.

Member Services

Youth support services were overhauled and a practice framework launched with greater clarity, consistency and the confidence that we were not only providing the best support for young New Zealanders, but were supporting

more young people.

Peer support is fundamental to what we do

This year we undertook a review to ensure that our camps and activities are well run, purposeful and make a difference to young people living with cancer. We want young people to have a sense of belonging, to be more resilient, not to feel alone, to have learned more skills, to gain relief and respite and to have a renewed excitement for life.

National Programmes review

We knew National Programmes were enjoyed but we wanted to make sure that our workshops were best practice and that they could be effectively measured and evaluated. Teen Link became CanNect and now has 58 young people trained to provide peer support to new

members when they join CanTeen. This was followed in early 2016 with the review of REAL, with REAL 2.0 launched in September 2016.

Member leadership

Youth participation and youth leadership is at the heart of CanTeen with member representation and contribution to organising events, fundraising, peer support and sharing their stories fundamental to the way we operate. We wanted to make sure that this unique partnership remained at the forefront of our organisation and to strengthen the inclusion of young people in our governance structure. In partnership with young people, in September 2016 we undertook a review of our member leadership structure which will launch in October 2017 at the AGM.

Improving survival outcomes

After the publication in 2013 of the National Child Cancer Network’s research into the incidence and prevalence of cancer in the 13 to 24 year age group, CanTeen committed to increasing its advocacy work to improve the survival outcomes for young people living in New Zealand with cancer. We needed to make sure that the views, wishes and experiences of patients were taken into account. The Listen Up group was set up in February 2016 and has worked on several projects in the last year (AYA Standards Of Care and Mind your Head campaign) to both help to improve survival outcomes and reduce the long term impact of cancer.

Three years into our strategy

We are confident in the quality of our support and that we are staying true to our founding principles of member leadership and peer support, while focusing our resources and attention on the challenges that cancer brings, and providing support at a time when it is most needed.

“It has been a priority the whole way that young people have had their voices heard in this process to ensure these new Standards address what cancer patients themselves have seen as barriers to their health care.” Claudine Young, CanTeen CEO

10

Each year hundreds of young New Zealanders experience the death and serious illness of a parent due to cancer, and feel the overwhelming loss of a key influencer in their life. While the loss of a parent at any time is difficult to cope with, young people experience feelings of guilt, loneliness, desperation, anger, resentment, abandonment, and overwhelming sadness and depression at a time when they also face physiological, psychological, academic and social pressures.

Adolescence is a time of rapid change for any young person; add in to this the emotions, thoughts and changes in the circumstances of everyday living linked to the

loss or illness of a parent and a whole range of risks are increased. These risks include poor decision making and an inability to cope and can result in inappropriate sexual behaviour, behavioural problems and difficulties at school, trouble with the police, eating problems, using drugs, solvents and alcohol, abuse and mental illness.

CanTeen specialises in supporting young people with grief and loss. We are currently the only organisation in New Zealand providing support specifically to young people experiencing the loss or illness of a parent to cancer.

Ensuring no young person faces cancer alone

CanTeen extends membership

REAL provides young people with the opportunity to reflect, connect and share experiences in a safe and supportive environment, with other young people living with cancer. Through interacting with peers, participants are given the opportunity to explore strategies and gain knowledge to help overcome some of the challenges they face. The workshop promotes positive wellbeing through connection and peer support (similar experiences).

Each participant receives a toolkit to take away which supports them with some self-care strategies for the future.

We have successfully completed four REAL 2.0 programmes this financial year in: in September, November, March and June and have had a total of 68 members participate.

REAL 2.0

REAL March 2017

11

Rory and his brother Fergus were just 15 and 11 when their dad Richard lost his battle with medullary thyroid cancer. They struggled to understand what was going on and didn’t know how to handle their overwhelming feelings of confusion and grief.

“My dad passed away just before I started year 11 at college. This was the worst year of my life. I really struggled at school and rarely did my school work. I became very anti-social and dropped out of all my sports teams. I spent most of my time playing computer games and rarely got much sleep. I didn’t enjoy school or pretty much anything at all.” Rory

Adolescence is a time of rapid change. The loss or illness of a parent adds a whole range of additional challenges that can result in poor decision making, risk taking and feelings of worthlessness and isolation. At CanTeen, Rory and Fergus connected with other young people struggling with the same issues. They no longer felt alone. The friendships they made and the tools they learned gave them strength and determination to deal with life after losing their dad.

“I went on a programme for young people like me who had also lost a parent to cancer. It was a weekend where we pretty much talked about our feelings and our problems and

ways to look after ourselves when we feel down. That was a great weekend for me and I felt different when I got back; I was a lot calmer and far less angry. CanTeen’s programmes have really helped me through my journey, but I feel the most helpful thing is the people I’ve met – both staff and members alike – who make you feel like you belong and that’s an awesome feeling.” RoryTalking to a Youth Support Coordinator helped Rory and Fergus express their feelings and get the emotional support they needed. CanTeen activities and workshops, such as a Bereaved Offspring workshop, reduced their isolation and helped them connect with other young people who understood what they were going through.

“Being a CanTeen member is like being a part of a group you never wish to be a part of, but in the end are glad that you are because it provides you with support and it is filled with awesome people you would otherwise not know. CanTeen is not some gloomy place where everyone is depressed because they have cancer. It’s the exact opposite! It’s a place where the positive out ways the negativity by far and is filled with many laughs.” Rory

Rory and Fergus with their Dad in 2009, Fergus and Rory attending 2015 Ringside Fight Night fundraiser for CanTeen

Rory and Fergus’s whole world was ripped apartRory and Fergus, Bereaved Siblings

12

Three days into year 13 at Mt Albert Grammar Alex (17 years old) was diagnosed with a brain tumour which abruptly ended his school year. Suffering headaches for more than three months Alex was away in Otaki at a canoe polo tournament when a severe migraine struck. Despite three GP visits, including one the afternoon he was eventually diagnosed, the pain did not abate. Much later that evening with the migraine medication having no effect, his Mum, who had a feeling something was really wrong, took him to Mercy Ascot A&E.

Walking time bombAfter a thorough examination, Alex was sent by ambulance to Auckland Hospital. A CT scan revealed a tumour and he was prepared for neurosurgery. Left much longer Alex wouldn’t have survived – the cerebral spinal fluid was building up in his brain, but couldn’t escape. Diagnosed with a stage 4 paediatric brain tumour, Alex was transferred to Starship Hospital for expertise treatment of this type of tumour. Alex approached his treatment on a ‘need to know’ basis – he asked the doctors to talk to his parents and only tell him what he really needed to know – his way of coping.

A pretty sad phase A month after his remission, Alex commenced his engineering degree but dropped out when he realised he was not retaining anything he was learning. With short term memory loss after radiation, combined with ‘chemo-brain’, things had definitely changed; Alex had to accept that his life was now vastly different.

Making a big decision to ‘re-do’ year 13 at Mt Albert Grammar, Alex took three completely different courses

to create new pathways. Alex said, “It was a pretty sad phase of my life”. Watching his friends move on by starting university or work gave him a sense of being left behind.

Pursuing his dreamA self-confessed computer nerd, Alex decided to pursue computer science at Auckland University. Looking and feeling stronger than when he began engineering, he soon realised that looks can be deceiving after a cancer diagnosis. Doing well with his grades, Alex was struggling with the time it took to process things, leaving him little time to enjoy the life he fought so hard to preserve. Cancer had changed Alex; studying computer science made him feel empty and he realised it was no longer ‘his thing’. It took almost two years of remission and post treatment to work out that what he imagined for his life was not what he actually wanted to do anymore; and he began to accept that it was going to take him longer to get where he wanted to be.

During his cancer journey, Alex lost all his strength, fitness and muscle tone so one of his goals after treatment was getting fit again. Working on his personal rehabilitation, Alex gained a real sense of himself. He said “There was a time where I couldn’t coordinate myself to put one foot in front of the other to win a 70m running race against the 5 year olds in my mum’s new entrant class. They thought I was joking, but I was actually trying my hardest!” Regaining his fitness, Alex decided to pursue his dream as a personal trainer at the NZ Institute of Health and Fitness. In his element, Alex has recently applied to join the NZ Police.

“It may sound a bit cheesy but I believe that my life was saved for a reason and that reason is to give back, support and help others.”

Alex, Patient Member

CanTeen paves the way

“From the moment I got to CanTeen, I just loved the environment. With people my own age, CanTeen is my third home – the gym being my second. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without CanTeen.”

Alex (centre back) with other CanTeen members at CanNect

13

Miranda PalmerYouth Support Coordinator, Auckland Branch

With a background in disability, health and youth work, and currently studying for a Masters in Social and Community Leadership at the University of Auckland, Miranda joined CanTeen in August 2014.

Miranda’s favourite part of working at CanTeen is that every day is different, from one-to-one visits with members to build rapport and better understand their individual needs, to arranging events and peer support opportunities.

Miranda loves the diversity of our young people and that each member’s situation provides not only a different experience but new challenges. Adolescent and young adult grief, loss change and palliative care are major passions of hers, and her thesis is themed on support experiences and the needs of bereaved offspring.

She has been heading youth leadership in the Auckland branch for over a year now. Youth leadership is exciting for her, as she gets to help young people like Alex learn advocacy, peer support, event management and public speaking skills. For most of the young leaders, they are learning in a capacity they would not have imagined themselves in or believed themselves capable of before cancer.

Miranda believes with CanTeen’s empowerment we can bring our members to a more positive space than ever.

Miranda with volunteers ready to collect for Street Appeal

14

Reducing long term impact of cancer

CanTeen’s lifestyle intervention programme ‘reset’ – a comprehensive and practical programme for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors – launched in February 2016.

With the growing understanding we have around the importance of nutrition and exercise in ensuring young people have every opportunity to lead healthy lives post treatment, we identified the need for a specific education programme. It can be very difficult for a young person who has finished treatment to return to normalcy, as research shows that cancer and its treatments can affect numerous organ systems and cause long term side effects, late effects and physical impairments. Adolescent and young adults with cancer are not only at a greater risk of developing a chronic illness, or a secondary cancer at a later stage in life, but there is also some evidence to suggest that AYA cancer survivors have a lower level of activity or are more sedentary for reasons such as limited mobility, pain, fatigue and or deconditioning of the body.

The good news is that we can do something about it. Studies show lifestyle changes in a cancer patient’s physical exercise levels and eating a balanced diet can greatly reduce the risk of developing another chronic illness and/or secondary cancer. It was crucial that CanTeen implemented

a programme which supported young people who have finished treatment and addressed the needs and challenges associated with having had cancer.

We wanted to focus on educating and empowering these young people through lifestyle changes which could potentially enhance not only their quality of life, but also their quantity of life. Designed specifically for young people, we also sought expertise from a dietitian (Sarah Peck) and specialist cancer rehabilitation physiotherapist (Lou James – Director of PINC & STEEL). The programme is made up of two weekend programmes and a 12 week challenge in between – where young people get to practice the skills and knowledge they have learnt.

The programme includes a variety of different exercises including paddle boarding, yoga and dodgeball, a cooking class and demonstrations, as well as inspirational guest speakers. We have had some brilliant feedback on the programme and are currently conducting an evaluation.

Participants also tested CanTeen’s first ever mobile app which has a series of home based exercises to increase things such as strength and cardiovascular fitness.

Reset will be continued with the next programme in February 2018.

“Motivation to live life to its fullest”

“This weekend will change my life”

reset

15

When CanTeen advocacy group ‘Listen Up’ asked patient members nationwide to share their experiences of having cancer treatment as a young person, the common theme was that cancer doesn’t finish with remission. The struggle continues as young people face mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety in the years that follow.

In April 2017 Listen Up created an internal mental health campaign called ‘Mind Your Head’ to raise awareness, promote open conversations and reduce stigma around mental health in young people, using youth-led activities in local branches, engagement with local mental health organisations and closed groups on social media.

Results from a survey, conducted during the Mind Your Head activities, showed that the majority of members had some understanding of mental health and that overall they were comfortable talking about mental health, however it depended who that was with. While respondents thought mental health was an issue for members, many could not identify any mental health services. The majority of members felt their mental health needs were being met within their local CanTeen branches.

By creating safe and comfortable environments for members to talk about their mental health, CanTeen can continuously educate and inform members about mental health and the associated services available to them.

Cancer doesn’t finish with remission

Cancer disrupts education and learning

CanTeen helps young people by providing the tools and support to get their studies back on track, catch up lost ground and get ready to thrive in life after cancer.

Warehouse Stationery, as a CanTeen corporate partner, raises funds through two Add $1 or more campaigns each year, with the September 2016 campaign the most successful ever, raising $89,088. With our partnership focused on ‘getting life back on track after cancer’ funds raised through these campaigns go to support our members and their education, through provision of electronic equipment such as laptops, tutoring and study resources.

Young people with cancer still need to be young people and not miss out on the social and educational opportunities that come with that stage in life. With Warehouse Stationery’s contribution, CanTeen members can get their education and future back on track.

“Being in hospital has brought me down a lot, preventing me from working and being able to attend classes. With an online course I can prove to myself that I can do something even though I am limited in where I can do it” Brittany (patient member).

Creative brainstorming for Mind Your Head campaign

16

CanTeen’s national advocacy group Listen Up enables our members to have a voice and be heard. By sharing their experiences and opinions, the group has helped shape change in New Zealand Youth Cancer Services.

Listen Up and AYA Standards of Care

Listen Up’s biggest influence so far has been the members’ contribution to the Adolescent and Young Adults (AYA) Cancer Service and Provision Standards – the Ministry of Health’s response to worrying statistics highlighted in 2013.

After more than a year of planning, workshops, focus groups, and hard work the AYA Cancer Network launched their new Standards of Care in May 2017, with the aim of improving the survival and quality of life outcomes for young people. The Standards outline best practice for young people receiving cancer treatment in New Zealand and describe the level of care they should expect from the time they are diagnosed to well beyond treatment. They cover all aspects of care and include hospital, primary care, NGO and community support.

A key innovation of these standards is the development of a self-review tool and implementation plan that encourages local providers to work together to build a common understanding of strengths and weaknesses across their services. The tool helps providers to collectively agree the next steps that they need to take to work towards the Standards and to improve the quality of care provided to young people with cancer in their region.

NZ Youth Leadership Award

CanTeen’s Listen Up programme was awarded a Youth Group Award at the New Zealand Youth Awards. The Minister for Youth, Hon Nikki Kaye, said she was honoured and proud to celebrate young New Zealanders who had made a significant contribution towards supporting other young people in their communities. That’s certainly what CanTeen’s Listen Up advocacy group have achieved with their influential work on the new Standards of Care, ensuring better quality care for young cancer patients.

Next up…

One of the key things our Listen Up members identified was that early diagnosis was critical to improving survival

outcomes. But more importantly, knowing what the common signs of youth cancer were, knowing what action to take and getting medical professionals to take their symptoms seriously were life-savers. We plan to run a campaign during August and September, culminating in our Annual Street Appeal, to raise awareness of the five most common signs of youth cancer.

Improving survival outcomes

Youth Support Coordinator Italia Jensen with Lauren, Member, Lucy CanTeen President and Warrick Sue, Youth Support Coordinator at Beehive for NZ Youth Leadership Awards.

• Survival rates for New Zealand adolescents and young

adults lag behind international comparisons by 7%.

KEY STATISTICS

• Maori and Pacific youth are less likely to survive cancer

in New Zealand – 69% of deaths in the last ten years –

even though they account for less than 30% of cancer

diagnoses in this age group.

• In the last ten years, 49 more 15-19 year-old New

Zealanders have died of cancer than we would expect

based on international survival statistics.

17

I’d been having constant headaches and loss of peripheral vision for twelve months before I finally had a CT scan. Six years later I still remember the panic and fear of that day.

It was my second year of high school and I’d had months of all-night migraines and relentless tiredness every day. I barely went to school that year.

Finally I had a diagnosis

It was the loss of vision which finally prompted the doctors to run tests. After months of doctor visits we finally had the devastating diagnosis – a rare, large brain tumour with tentacles wrapped around my optic nerve and a major artery. I had a 4% chance of surviving an operation to remove it and a 90% chance of being severely developmentally delayed.

It didn’t seem possible; I was fifteen years old

The morning I went for surgery felt surreal. It could have been the end of all the things I’d dreamed of achieving in my life. But thankfully it wasn’t.

The first thing I saw when I woke from the surgery was Mum by my bed. She started hugging me and telling me over and over again that she loved me. The doctor came in and asked me to say something. They didn’t know if I’d be able to talk. My response was “Go away”, I was so overwhelmed by all the people around me.

I have life-long effects of my treatment

That’s where my memory of it all ends. The sixteen hour operation to remove the tumour left me with memory loss, amongst other things. It’s been a long road to recovery, with months of intensive physiotherapy and memory retraining. I have life-long effects of my treatment, like osteoporosis at the age of 21, and I’ll need medication for the rest of my life.

CanTeen gave me courage to keep going

A CanTeen Youth Support Coordinator visited me in hospital and I immediately realised just how lonely I had been feeling. My family had been a great support, but I longed to share my experience with people who really understood what it was like to have cancer.

Through CanTeen I met other young people who’d had cancer and got through it. During the weeks in hospital I spent a lot of time in the CanTeen lounge and met a boy who had a brain tumour too. It was great to talk to someone my age about it. We could make jokes that I just couldn’t make with other people.

I’ve made friendships for life at CanTeen. Everyone gets it. They’re there to listen to your problems and to just enjoy life together. CanTeen has helped me cope with that fact that my life hasn’t gone back to the way it used to be and to accept and embrace my life as it is now. They’ve given me courage to keep going.

Cancer gave me a new perspective on life

I’ve had to grow up extremely fast! Knowing you were just weeks from dying is a good motivation to make the most of what you have! I run at life now – I’ve completed my photography degree and I’m living my passion by running my own photography business.

I feel so lucky that CanTeen was there for me. I know I still have challenges to face but, thanks to CanTeen, I’m going to live every moment of this life. Thanks to CanTeen, I’m facing my future with hope.

Six years later… I still remember the panic and fear Sarah, Patient Member

18

As part of CanTeen’s commitment to delivering the best possible service to young people with cancer and prioritising our services for those with the greatest need – based on support categorisation – we have placed a strong emphasis during 2016 on streamlining and delivering an enhanced our service, and growing individual one-to-one support.

CanTeen staff come from a range of backgrounds, bringing not just their experience with youth, but also their professional knowledge and qualifications of youth work, social work, mental health, youth health, counselling, occupational therapy and youth mentoring. Engaging staff in training and development opportunities has allowed us to ensure our programmes are based on current best practice, with consistent and high quality service delivered across the country to the young people and families we work with.

In implementing a practice management framework with structure, policies and processes along with tools, training and performance management ensures, not only consistent and best practice delivery of services for young people living with cancer, but leverages the skills and expertise of our people and ensures the highest standard of youth work and professional development.

During 2016 we also implemented a mobile friendly, web-based case management system across the country

to help frontline staff manage their caseload effectively; with this came increased in-built evaluation and case management tools, along with automated reporting.

In the last year, with increased referrals and an ever increasing concern for young people’s mental health and wellbeing, CanTeen focused largely on strengthening the delivery of our one-to-one service. Alongside building strong trusting relationships with young people within a framework of positive youth development, we have developed several tools including a youth assessment tool which helps Youth Support Coordinators build an accurate picture of a young person’s world, enabling staff to have more ‘courageous conversations’ and ask some of the difficult questions when times get tough.

Bearing in mind that isolation is a risk factor for young people, shifting our youth practice to include more collaboration with whanau, health professionals, community counselling and support services, where appropriate, has also enabled us to ensure no young person goes through cancer alone.

Congruent with providing a strong supportive peer network for young people, CanTeen aims to do the same for staff whose warmth, strength, positivity and expertise are vital to connecting young people and their families to CanTeen and each other.

Delivering an enhanced service

Anna Youth Support Coordinator, Laverne Practice Manager, Viv Youth Support Coordinator and Georgie National Programmes Manager at REAL

19

Prioritising those most in need

Category Four All young people who join CanTeen but do not actively engage with us

Category OneNew members upon referral to CanTeen

Patients while on treatment

Patients with a new diagnosis

Young people with a sibling or parent with a recent diagnosis

Young people recently bereaved of a sibling or parent

Young people living with the impact of cancer and cancer treatments day to day

Category TwoPatients who have completed treatment in the last two to five years

Young people whose parent or sibling completed treatment in the last two years

Young people bereaved of a sibling or parent in the last two to five years

Category ThreePatients who have completed treatment over five years ago

Young people whose parent or sibling completed treatment over five years ago

Young people bereaved of a sibling or parent for over five years

Peer support is at the core of CanTeen’s philosophy; built upon the belief that the best people to support other people going through cancer are people who have experienced it themselves.

CanNect is now in its third successful year and we have seen 53 members graduate into fully fledged CanNectors since 2015 – that’s well over 300 formal peer support connections just in the placement phase – not to mention the rest!

These CanNectors have been very dedicated in connecting with new members and utilising the skills learnt from the CanNect Training. The Youth Support Coordinators have done an outstanding job in facilitating these peer support visits and we are excited to go into our fourth year of CanNect knowing the incredible impact young people can make on the lives of other young people living with cancer.

CanNect

43%871

1:1 Youth Worker SupportNational ProgrammesFormal peer support

Respite and relaxationOnline supportResources and

membership benefits

14%286

Online supportResources and

membership benefits

29%

Patients: National ProgrammesAll: Leadership development

Informal peer supportRespite and relaxation

Online supportResources and

membership benefits

13%269

National ProgrammesLeadership

developmentInformal peer supportRespite and relaxation

Online supportResources and

membership benefits

One

Four

Three

Two

582

20

Maximising our leadership potential

In September 2016 a project team, led by staff and senior leader members, was set up to review CanTeen’s current member leadership structure, opportunities and training. Addressing concerns and issues raised, any recommendations for changes were to be aligned to international best practice for youth participation and leadership. Members and staff were surveyed, best practice researched and then findings were pulled together into a proposal for what CanTeen leadership should look like.

Issues raised and reflected in research

1. Meaningful leadership and participation

Creating meaningful participation and avoiding tokenism is one of the most repeated themes in youth participation and leadership literature, and a key principle in most youth participation model. Young people feeling valued in their roles, and feeling that their roles have an impact on the organisation is one of the key reasons young people engage or stay engaged in leadership roles within organisations.

2. Connectedness and relationship

Connectedness is an important factor in the success or failure of a leadership programme. Relationships with peers and staff were repeatedly mentioned when young people talked about what was good about training programmes, or leadership groups. Negative experiences were due to the young person either: feeling like their role had no value; they weren’t taken seriously or the young person had relational issues with other young people or staff.

3. Positive youth development (PYD)

CanTeen works within a positive youth development framework. Positive youth development is about understanding where young people are in terms of their skills, knowledge and developmental age, and creating a leadership model where young people can start where they are, and grow through leadership experiences.

Studies show that leadership programmes with a PYD framework promote increased self-confidence and self-belief, increased knowledge and understanding of others perspectives resulting in adjusted attitudes, more developed skills and higher educational achievement for young people.

4. Whole picture approach

Ensuring that youth leadership or participation takes place in all areas and aspects of an organisation is critical and this is often how organisations can achieve a culture of youth inclusion and leadership promotion. For youth leadership and participation to be meaningful it needs to be present in every part of an organisation’s policies, programmes and governance.

5. Equity and inclusiveness

Equity is frequently discussed in literature and, from our surveys, appears to be one of the biggest barriers CanTeen faces in youth leadership. Equity is concerned with how young people are selected and put forward for opportunities. Once on a committee, how young people feel they are heard and listened to by staff; how cultural diversity and inclusiveness of cultural practices in leadership activities are acknowledged and respected.

6. Clarity / Kaupapa

Communicating clear intentions about youth participation and leadership and providing a clear description of roles addresses many of the barriers reducing the likelihood of relational issues and supporting connectedness. Clarity of roles can give young people purpose, building a feeling of meaning to the work they are doing. Stating why youth leadership is important to an organisation can guard against tokenism.

21

Member leadership principles It was essential that any proposed new structure for Member Leadership should include some key elements.

CanTeen believes:

• Young people and staff are in partnership and each brings a unique set of expertise and experience

• In equity and inclusiveness of people of all cultures, backgrounds, abilities and cancer experience

• Leadership opportunities should be set in a foundation of positive youth development principals

• Young people’s views, opinion and lived experience should be represented in a meaningful way at every level of our organisation.

Member leaders will:

• Be equipped with skills, training and support to carry out their leadership roles

• Represent the collective member voice and advocate for their peers

• Have a high level of participation and member engagement in order to lead and represent the membership

• Be offered opportunities for personal growth and upskilling

• Receive continued mentoring and support from staff and past leaders

• Be empowered to speak up if they encounter anything that doesn’t align with our organisational values inside and outside of CanTeen

• Experience the value, skill and knowledge staff bring to CanTeen

• Be given the opportunity to debrief and reflect on their leadership development

• Be given opportunities to navigate and develop skills to resolve any relational challenges on their leadership.

Board

National Leadership Team

Branch Leadership Groups

Board Member Chair

• CanTeen believes...• young people and staff are in partnership

• in equity and inclusiveness• in a foundation of positive youth development

Nat

iona

l and

Loc

al T

rain

ing

and

Dev

elop

men

t

Indi

vidu

al S

uppo

rt a

nd M

ento

ring

Regional Reps x4 Category Reps x4 Work Stream Reps x4

Listen Up

CanNect

Camps and Activities

Community Connections

22

CANTEEN, THE NEW ZEALAND ORGANISATION SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING WITH CANCER INCORPORATED

Nature of Business: Supporting Young People Living With Cancer

Location of Business: 111 Grafton Road, Auckland

Registered Office: 111 Grafton Road, Auckland

President: Lucy Coombes

Vice President: Anna O'Grady

Bankers: ASB Bank

Solicitors: DLA Phillips Fox

Auditors: Staples Rodway Chartered Accountants, Auckland

Charity Reg Number: CC11087

Members of the Board:

Dion Mortenson (Chairman)

Anna O'Grady

Gregory Runnerstrum

Mark Winstanley

Lucy Coombes

Regan King

Haley Thomas

CanTeen staff will:

• Be equipped with the right resources, support and time to develop member leaders in their roles

• Listen to members and take their suggestions and opinions seriously

• Provide a safe environment for member leaders to learn, experiment, and where failure is accepted and learned from.

• Will apply positive youth development principals to member leadership

• Will give all young people an equal opportunity to experience appropriate member leadership

• Uphold CanTeen’s organisational values

• Experience the lived experience, knowledge, and cultural relevance members bring to CanTeen

• Provide consistent and good quality feedback to member leaders throughout their leadership experience

• Will be committed to developing young people in regards to their relationships and resolving of any challenges.

The structure will provide:

• A wider variety and a larger number of roles

• Roles for young people with a range of leadership experience including those new to leadership

• Roles at Branch, National and Board level that include representation and governance

• Clearly defined roles and pathways to each role that include training and support

• National and Branch level training for each role.

The new leadership structure is being launched at the AGM 2017, with training for staff in November and the first membership training workshop in March 2018.

We will continue to build on our key strengths, reaching more young people impacted by cancer and ensuring we provide the most relevant support to each and every one of our current and future members. CanTeen will continue its advocacy work to ensure that not only the voice of young people living with cancer is heard, but to raise awareness of the most common signs of youth cancer and fight to improve the survival outcomes of young New Zealanders.

The creation of a new long term strategic plan in 2018 will embed our organisation’s future direction and our goal of reaching more young people. Engagement with the wider community through families, schools and local groups, cementing a closer partnership with CanTeen Australia, and utilising technology to extend our reach through online counselling, are integral components of delivering the best possible youth cancer service.

Looking to the future

CANTEEN, THE NEW ZEALAND ORGANISATION SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING WITH CANCER INCORPORATED

Nature of Business: Supporting Young People Living With Cancer

Location of Business: 111 Grafton Road, Auckland

Registered Office: 111 Grafton Road, Auckland

President: Lucy Coombes

Vice President: Anna O'Grady

Bankers: ASB Bank

Solicitors: DLA Phillips Fox

Auditors: Staples Rodway Chartered Accountants, Auckland

Charity Reg Number: CC11087

Members of the Board:

Dion Mortenson (Chairman)

Anna O'Grady

Gregory Runnerstrum

Mark Winstanley

Lucy Coombes

Regan King

Haley Thomas

Dion Mortenson (Chairman) Lucy Coombes

Regan King

23

Level 9, 45 Queen Street Auckland 1010 PO Box 3899, Auckland 1140 New Zealand

T +64 9 309 0463 F +64 9 309 4544 E enquiries@staplesrodway.com W staplesrodway.co.nz

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR

ON THE SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS TO THE MEMBERS OF CANTEEN, THE NEW ZEALAND

ORGANISATION SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING WITH CANCER INCORPORATED

The accompanying summary financial statements, which comprise the Summary Statement of Financial Position as at 30 June 2017, the Summary Statement of Comprehensive Revenue and Expenses and Summary Statement of Movements in General Funds for the year then ended, and related notes, are derived from the audited financial statements of CanTeen, the New Zealand Organisation Supporting Young People Living with Cancer Incorporated for the year ended 30 June 2017. We expressed a qualified audit opinion on those financial statements in our report dated 11 October 2017. Those financial statements, and the summary financial statements, do not reflect the effects of events that occurred subsequent to the date of our report on those financial statements. The summary financial statements do not contain all the disclosures required for full financial statements under generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand. Reading the summary financial statements, therefore, is not a substitute for reading the audited financial statements of the Trust. Board’s Responsibility for the Summary Financial Statements The Board are responsible for the preparation of a summary of the audited financial statements in accordance with Public Benefit Entity Financial Reporting Standard 43: Summary Financial Statements (PBE FRS 43). Auditor’s Responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the summary financial statements based on our procedures, which were conducted in accordance with International Standard on Auditing (New Zealand) (ISA (NZ)) 810, Engagements to Report on Summary Financial Statements. Other than in our capacity as auditor and provider of other assurance services, our firm carries out other assignments for Canteen, The New Zealand Organisation Supporting Young People Living with Cancer Incorporated in Business Advisory Services. The provision of these other services has not impaired our independence. Our firm is also a sponsor of the Society. The sponsorship has not impaired our independence. The firm has no other relationship with, or interests in, the Society. Opinion In our opinion, the summary financial statements derived from the audited financial statements of, CanTeen, the New Zealand Organisation Supporting Young People Living with Cancer Incorporated for the year ended 30 June 2017 are consistent, in all material respects, with those consolidated financial statements, in accordance with PBE FRS 43. STAPLES RODWAY AUCKLAND CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AUCKLAND 18 October 2017

24

25

Notes to the Summary Report

The summary financial statements have been prepared for CanTeen, the New Zealand Organisation Supporting Young People Living with Cancer Incorporated for the year ended 30 June 2017. It is an Incorporated Society established under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908, and registered under the Charities Act 2005.

The summary financial statements have been taken from the full audited financial statements of the Society.

The summary financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard No. 43, Summary Financial Statements, issued by the New Zealand Accounting Standards Board of the External Reporting Board.

The full financial statements of the Society have been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice in New Zealand ("NZ GAAP"). They comply with Public Benefit Entity Standards Reduced Disclosure Regime ("PBE RDR") as appropriate for Tier 2 Not-For-Profit public benefit entities, for which all reduced disclosure regime exemptions have been adopted. The Society is eligible to report in accordance with PBE RDR on the basis that it does not have public accountability and is not defined as large.

The summary financial statements cannot be expected to provide as complete an understanding as provided by the full financial statements.

The full accounts are available on application to CanTeen, The New Zealand Organisation Supporting Young People Living with Cancer Incorporated at PO Box 56072, Dominion Road, Auckland 1446.

The summary financial statements were approved for issue by the Board Members on 18 October 2017.

The summary financial statements are presented in New Zealand dollars (which is the functional currency of the Society) and all values have been rounded to the nearest dollar.

The full financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2017 have been audited, and the auditor has issued a qualified opinion on the 18 October 2017.

26

27

Corporate Partners

We’re fortunate to partner with some fantastic community-minded organisations that are as passionate about supporting young people

living with cancer as we are.

THANK YOU

CanTeen relies completely on voluntary income from the community; we receive no government funds. This year our supporters have helped hundreds of young people cope with cancer and get their lives back on

track. Whether you’re a monthly giver, grant funder, corporate or business supporter, or a community fundraiser, we are so grateful. Thank you.

28

THANK YOU

Thank you to the foundations and grant funders for funding our community services

Acorn FoundationBay TrystCommunity Organisation Grants Scheme (COGs) - Department of Internal AffairsConstellation Communities TrustEastern & Central Community TrustFirst Sovereign TrustFour Winds FoundationGeyser Community TrustHB Williams Turanga Trust & JN Williams Memorial TrustInfinity FoundationJana & Michael Wisnesky Charitable TrustLen Reynolds TrustLion FoundationLottery National - Department of Internal AffairsMainland FoundationMt Wellington FoundationNew Zealand Community TrustNick Lingard FoundationPub Charity LimitedSport ManawatuTed & Mollie Endowment Fund - Perpetual GuardianThe Bendigo Valley Sports FoundationThe Canterbury Earthquake Recovery TrustThe Community Trust of Mid & South CanterburyThe Invercargill Licensing TrustThe Joyce Fisher Charitable TrustThe Kingdom FoundationThe Rata FoundationThe Southern TrustThe Southern Victorian Charitable TrustThe Trusts Community FoundationThe Trusts Community FoundationThomas George McCarthy TrustTrust WaikatoVavasour Charitable TrustVernan Hall Trust FundW & M Bear Charitable TrustWEL Energy TrustWEEM TrustYouth Fund Youthtown Inc

These community fundraisers went above and beyond this year

Ludus Magnus School of TrainingThe freight forwarder community for the Freight Forwarder Charity BashThe Hawkes Bay Mitre10 MegaWalkWaiuku CollegeSaint Kentigern Boys SchoolLincoln High School

And a very special mention to St Bedes College in Christchurch, whose biennial Run for a Life event challenges students to run 100 kilometres over four days to raise funds for CanTeen bringing together communities across the top of the South Island. It really is a “life changing” event in more ways than one.

@ C A N T E E N N Z/ C A N T E E N N ZC A N T E E N . O R G . N Z

CHARITIES COMMISSION

NUMBER: CC11087

EMAIL: info@canteen.org.nz

PHONE: 0800 CANTEEN

POSTAL ADDRESS:

PO Box 56072, Dominion Rd,

Auckland 1446