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Lockdown affects CanTeen's ability to help young New Zealanders with cancer

CanTeen’s been forced to move all face-to-face counselling and support groups to online services.

New Zealand's Level 4 lockdown restrictions are having an impact on the help offered to young people affected by cancer.

Charitable group CanTeen has been forced to move all face-to-face counselling and support groups online, conducting one-on-one and group sessions through the likes of Facetime, Zoom, Skype and the charity's new platform CanTeen Connect.

CanTeen provides support for young people between the ages of 13-24 who are affected by cancer in some way.

Chief executive Nick Laing says it's essential CanTeen's services are able to continue through the lockdown.

"Stress levels are already high given what's going on with Covid-19 and that's been added on top of the stresses they're already facing with their cancer battles," he said.

During the Level 4 four-week isolation period at least 15 young New Zealanders will be diagnosed with cancer, around 30 people will find out a parent has cancer and everyday, a young person will have a sibling diagnosed.

Being a charity, CanTeen relies on funding.

This year they've had to be creative with their bandanna appeal (which fell in the first week of lockdown), selling bandannas online that'll be sent out when New Zealand's alert system drops to Level 3. 

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