Cancer survivor makes hampers for young patients

A Jersey cancer survivor has been giving presents to cancer patients aged between 17 and 25 in the island.

Antonia Rubio said she spent last Christmas recovering from her cancer treatment and said she struggled to enjoy the festive season.

Since she was diagnosed in 2023, Ms Rubio has been using her social media to share her journey and to help others.

Now a year on and cancer free, she said she wanted to help those who were going through a similar experience.

She said: "I've met a lot of people in the cancer community through the past year and I've been hearing about people who are newly diagnosed in the islands and I just kept thinking about how scary that must be for them.

"I know how it is to be in that position as a young person and you miss out on a lot of things that normal teens go through and twenty-year-olds go through and I just wanted to remind them that they still deserve to have a nice time."

The seven hampers for four boys and three girls were personalised to each patient, including overnight hotel stays, colouring books and self care items.

Ms Rubio said those receiving the presents had been very grateful and surprised.

"It wasn't the big present that they were actually excited about, it was the little things that were kind of personal to them.

"That made me really happy because I was able to think about what I would have wanted last year and channel that into making the hampers," she said.

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