A YOUNG York woman who fought cancer as a teenager has spoken out about the psychological impact when she lost her hair and put on weight during treatment.

Abi Cooper said she wanted to reassure other young people going through the same trauma that ‘it will get better.

She was speaking in support of a new campaign by the Teenage Cancer Trust called #stillme, which aims to shine a light on the huge impact that changes to appearance caused by cancer and treatment can have on young people’s body image, confidence and self-esteem.

It involves 20 young people from across the UK talking about how their cancer and treatment has led to scarring, hair loss, huge weight fluctuations, facial tumours and amputations, and offering tips and advice on how to cope.

The trust said that in a snap online poll conducted earlier this year,it asked young people what worried them most about their cancer diagnosis and nearly a quarter were most worried about how their looks would be affected.

Abi, now 24, who was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma aged 19, said: “I started losing weight in my first year at university and I thought it was just because I was busy.

"People were complimenting me on my weight loss, and I didn’t think it could be a serious underlying health issue.

"After I was diagnosed, and I realised it was the cancer that had caused my weight loss, it gave me a new perspective on my health and body image.

"Now I'm healthy I try to think less about what my body looks like and instead focus on what it can do.

“Young people in general are under pressure to look a certain way. It is really damaging to hold onto beauty ideals when they are completely contradictory to good health.

"When I was thinner and weaker, I wasn’t healthy. My thighs may be bigger now, but they can carry me further.”

Trust CEO Kate Collins said that over the past three decades, it had supported thousands of young people like Abi through treatment, and knew changes in appearance could be distressing and tough to deal with.

“The 'ideal' bodies and looks portrayed on Instagram that many young people aspire to are difficult to live up to at the best of times - and the effects of cancer and treatment on appearance, can really add to this pressure," she said.

“People like Abi are sharing their experiences of how they coped, and this will do so much to help other people facing similar issues. We’re really proud and grateful that she is part of our #StillMe campaign.”

*For more information, go to www.teenagecancertrust.org/stillme.