WE work tirelessly to try to brighten the lives of children and their families in the North-East of England and Cumbria who have been affected by cancer, in whatever way we can.

THANKS to the Otium Health and Leisure Centre in Middlesbrough, we were able to do something egg-stra special last Easter.     For Otium manager Mark Castle (pictured with assistant manager Sarah Garner) invited potential members to join free - provided they brought along an Easter egg.     The eggs were then handed over to The Katie Trust - 25 of them in all. We then took them to the paediatric oncology ward at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne where children from all over the North-East go for cancer treatment.

EACH year we host a Summer Party for youngsters who are being treated for cancer or attending paediatric oncology clinic. Parents and siblings are also invited.         This has been held at various venues including the grounds of Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle's Theatre Royal and the Civic Theatre in Darlington.      Pictured at the top of the page is Rebecca Lawrence of Redcar, enjoying our 2002 party - a performance of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - after having her face painted.        In 2003 and 2004 it was staged at the Hollywood Bowl in Stockton, where we filled 15 lanes - each of them captained by a child receiving treatment for cancer or attending paediatric oncology clinic.

    This year's Party was thoroughly enjoyable and competitive too, with the lane captained by young Kate O'Donnell of Marske taking the top prize.

    The party has become a much-enjoyed and anticipated date on the calendar for youngsters who are being treated for cancer or recovering from the effects of the disease. Next year we plan to treat the youngsters to something new - watch this space for details!

IN 2003 we launched what we hope to be an ongoing programme of providing mobility aids to make life easier for young cancer patients attending the the paediatric oncology ward (Ward 24) of Newcastle General Hospital.        The first of these presentations was made by international motorsport and stunt driver Paul Swift on behalf of  The Katie Trust.    Paul is a big friend of The Katie Trust and was delighted make the presentation on our behalf - despite jetting in from a TV appearance in New York only a few hours earlier! He is pictured with 11-year-old cancer patient Adam Low in the chair at Newcastle General Hospital.

    The chair will enable young brain tumour patients to get around when they would otherwise be bedbound and is fully adjustable and adaptable to accommodate children of all sizes.

WE have part-funded a care worker's post, based in Newcastle upon Tyne which enabled the families of children with cancer to enjoy professional help and support at a time when they need it most.  

    We are also planning to join forces with another charity to provided a specialist teenage years care worker to operate in the North-East later this year. We expect to make an announcement shortly.
   
AMONG our aims is to help lessen the risk of financial hardship among the families of children with cancer.

    We know from our own experience how financially difficult it is when you have a child receiving extensive treatment for cancer. Often one or both parents is forced to give up work and the costs of transport, eating away from home during long stays in hospital etc can mount up.

    Ways in which we have helped include helping towards transport costs to and from hospital and helping towards funeral costs of a young cancer patient. If you live in the North-East or Cumbria and you think we may be able to help you, please get in touch.

    Because we are a small and young charity, much of our initial fund-raising has been to finance our medulloblastoma research posts. But, as we grow, we intend to continue strengthening our ties with children currently being treated with cancer and their families. More details about this can be found on the 'Our Research' page of this website.