Liverpool Teen Joins Children’s Brain Tumour Charity, Tom's Trust, As A Young Ambassador To Help Others

CITY OF LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION.

Liverpool Teen Aims To Support Others As He Joins A Children’s Brain Tumour Charity, Tom'sTrust, As A Young Ambassador After His Own Diagnosis

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Faris, 19, from Liverpool, was diagnosed with a brain tumour four years ago.

After being treated by the team at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and supported by the Tom’s Trust psychology team, based at the hospital, he has made the inspirational decision to join the national children’s brain tumour charity as a Young Ambassador.

The role will see him support other children and young adults who are facing a brain tumour diagnosis, he will do this by sharing his story, raising awareness of childhood brain tumours and taking part in other events with the charity two years of Tom’s Trust at Alder Hey.

“Obviously, young people are looking up to you, so that they have someone where they can say ‘if he can do it, so can I’. I wanted to be that role model for young people facing a brain tumour diagnosis.” ‐ Faris, Young Ambassador for Tom's Trust.

Tom’s Trust first opened their clinical psychology support service at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in June 2023. The charity currently funds two clinical psychologists, Dr Meghan Owens and Dr Nihad Mahama, and one psychological wellbeing practitioner, Anna Roberts. Over the past two years, the team has helped many other children and young people, like Faris, through the psychology service, which celebrates its second anniversary in June 2025.

The team provides clinical psychology led support for both inpatients and outpatients for children facing a brain tumour diagnosis, and their families. In the last six months the team has provided 26 children with therapeutic support and has seen 13 for neuropsychological assessments – the results from this help to form a pathway of care and provide a benchmark for any future progress or decline. Tom’s Trust believes in supporting the whole family and so our team have also worked with 29 family members offering therapeutic support and three families have attended their group support sessions.

To mark their two years, the Alder Hey team is launching Faris as their newest Tom’s Trust Young Ambassador.

Faris’s story

Faris was diagnosed with a low-grade pilomyxoid astrocytoma tumour in 2021, at just 15 years old, after initially noticing changes with his eyesight, sudden difficulty with balance and vomiting. At first, he assumed everything would be fine - but once his circumstances worsened, he and his family made their way to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool for further testing.

Once he'd had his blood sugar levels checked, which came back normal, Faris underwent neurological tests. Unfortunately, the results revealed a large brain tumour.

After going through several surgical procedures, Faris was placed on an aggressive course of chemotherapy, which he developed an allergy to, resulting in him being taken off it a third of the way through. He described the time as ‘really upsetting’, but he was quickly introduced to alternative methods of treatment.

Recalling that time of his life, Faris says: “It was a bit manic, going straight into surgery – but at the end of the day, I'm here now, in a positive state. I am moving forward, looking to the future, and I feel like I’m a lot better now. I can do regular things rather than being stuck in the house or stuck in the hospital.”

Throughout difficulties during various courses of treatment, complications with surgeries, and constant weekly hospital appointments, Faris’ journey in navigating his diagnosis was tumultuous and began to make him feel isolated.

Faris, however, remained positive and completed his initial treatment courses, despite the tumour growing slightly. Faris then completed two years of vinblastine treatment, before shrinking the tumour growth with proton beam therapy, which he finished this year. He is currently in remission.

When reflecting on the days of his treatment and the difficulties that came with it, Faris remembers how he felt at the time. He eagerly sought ways to help combat his anxiety surrounding his diagnosis, particularly undergoing treatment, which even saw him losing sleep over the thought of undergoing each session.

He says: “Obviously there is a lot of stress when being diagnosed with a brain tumour. There are a lot of questions, a lot going through your mind. To be honest, I had rough sleeps where I was constantly thinking about things. Days where I had treatment were really difficult, and there were things about it that really troubled me.”

Faris found his anxiety eased when he met his psychological wellbeing practitioner from Tom’s Trust, Anna. She provided Faris with the support he needed during this time of uncertainty, as he faced his proton beam therapy and school reintegration.

Faris says: “Speaking with Anna helps me vent my feelings, speak my mind and flush all the doubt and worry out of my head. It has been difficult. Anna has really helped me to reframe my thinking to a more positive approach. I’m so grateful for the work she’s done with me – it's been brilliant.”

Anna suggested to Faris that he become a Tom's Trust Young Ambassador, which he quickly became keen to do.

He says: “There are a lot of young people who are Young Ambassadors for Tom’s Trust, but there aren’t as many older representatives within the charity. So, I thought this was my time to make an impact, share my story and change people’s lives, rather than sit around and not try to engage with it.

“I thought the idea of helping younger people is beneficial. Obviously, young people are looking up to you, so that they have someone where they can say ‘if he can do it, so can I’. I wanted to be that role model for young people facing a brain tumour diagnosis.”

Faris is currently post-treatment and while he is being monitored by Alder Hey, he is also getting back into the routine of work, college and friendship whilst trying to navigate the bad days.

He says: “With all the support from people like Tom’s Trust, it’s been really helpful to integrate back into life – particularly as Anna helps me structure my days again.”

What’s next for Faris?

In the future, Faris aims to become a support worker to help young people and children just like him. He’s been inspired to do so by how has been impacted by his own support worker, clinical psychologist and other professionals that he’s met during his journey.

When asked for advice to give young people in his position, Faris encourages to keep a positive mindset.

He advises: “Stay positive – there's always a light at the end of the tunnel, and there are always people around you to support you.”

Laura Bowditch, Family Liaison Coordinator at Tom’s Trust says: “We are so delighted to have Faris on board as a Young Ambassador. He has such an incredible passion and genuine enthusiasm for helping others. Faris' positivity will encourage so many others feel less alone as they face this devastating diagnosis. We are so grateful and can’t wait to see all that he does.”