Stars unveil Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Newcastle RVI

May 20 2010 The Journal

X FACTOR star Joe McElderry teamed up with the Duchess of York to officially unveil a groundbreaking teenage cancer unit on Tyneside.

The pair came to Newcastle alongside Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and The Who frontman Roger Daltery to attend the opening of the Teenage Cancer Trust’s £1.7m centre at Newcastle’s RVI.

And as Sarah Ferguson met patients struck by cancer during yesterday’s star-studded event, she paid tribute to the inspirational bravery of those receiving treatment.

The Duchess said: “Listening to the stories from some of the teenagers is amazing. It’s inspirational and it gives everyone a sense of hope.”

More than £1.7m was raised to fund the new centre which will provide care for youngsters aged between 13 and 18 from across the North East and Cumbria.

It replaces the previous centre at the RVI which the Duchess opened more than a decade ago in 1998. The new unit aims to provide a home from home for cancer-hit youngsters and their families, with 10 inpatients and a recreational room, chill-out zone and media facilities.

The Duchess said the “true celebrities” were the young patients who inspired her. She has a 20-year association with the trust, and officially opened its 15th unit in Newcastle, which is just a stone’s throw from the university where Eugenie is studying.

And yesterday the young princess took timeout from her degree to shoot pool with the patients and also choose tracks from the centre’s jukebox.