Sitting in a hospital room, Callum Shallcross says he ‘dissociated from reality’.
He’d just been told that the small lump on his neck that he’d asked his mates about five weeks earlier was stage four cancer. It was a hammer-blow to the then-13-year-old and his mum.
“I was given the news twice. When I was told by an A&E consultant I zoned out and dissociated from reality,” Callum recalled. “I went into my own mind and was staring blankly.
“My mum broke down. I was told again by my oncologist, and that time I broke down.”
Now aged 16, Callum, from Manchester, is set to take the stage at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Wednesday (March 22). He’s endured isolation, aggressive chemotherapy, and depression — but his performance will be a celebration of his talent, as well as a warning to others about the dangers of the disease.
“No-one teaches you the symptoms of cancer as a young person or what signs to look out for,” he went on. “I thought nothing of it until it grew so big and by then it was stage four. I’d probably been walking around with it for ages.
“I originally thought that I would just be able to continue things as normal. I kept going to school and carried on with my rehearsals, but I very quickly realised that I didn’t have time or the energy to do everything. I had such bad fatigue and was tired after everything.
“People need to realise the reality of it, including the social aspect, the times you are going home and being sick, missing hanging out with friends and family. The sheer isolation as a young person is very real. You feel a real loss of power.
“Another side effect was weight gain. The steroids made me feel hungry all of the time. I had really big hair and I loved it. It was a huge part of me and my identity. Nothing prepared me for how quickly I started to lose it.
“The day after my first chemo session, I ran my hand through my hair, and it started coming out in clumps. I had a breakdown and refused to go to school with clumps of my hair missing. Then I decided to own it and get it cut before it all fell out. I felt really bad about my appearance.”
Fortunately, Callum had Nic to turn to — Teenage Cancer Trust Youth Support Coordinator. “I spoke about it to Nic and said I felt like the person I was before and the person I was now were two different people, and that I didn’t feel the best version of myself,” he explained.
“I didn’t recognize myself. Nic took time to listen to me and we spoke at length. She was a really big part of helping me understand what was happening to me.
“She also got me some great support from a psychologist at the hospital. The psychologist started to make me feel a lot better as she helped me understand that it wasn’t my fault that I’d gained weight or lost my hair.
“That was a massive help. If I didn’t understand something I got stressed out, so the psychologist helped me to understand a lot of things and put me at ease.
“Being in the Teenage Cancer Trust unit really helped too. It would have been a lot harder if I was on a children’s ward with lots of young children running around and screaming.”
Callum will introduce a special film he stars in on the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust’s week-long gig series at the iconic venue from March 20-26. He’ll be sharing the same stage in the week Wet Leg, Kasabian, and Roger Daltrey perform.
“I’m really excited to see the film on the screen at the Royal Albert Hall and to share my story with all those people,” Callum said. “I hope it gets people donating to support other young people like me, because Teenage Cancer Trust really is at the heart of cancer care for young people.
“I really want people watching to understand that cancer doesn’t have to define you – that you can still go on to achieve what you want to achieve.”
Through its annual series of gigs at the Royal Albert Hall Teenage Cancer Trust has raised over £30 million to fund its specialist units, nurses, and youth support teams across the UK for young people aged 13-24. You can donate to the charity here.
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