A cancer charity boss and long-distance yachtswoman has held an emotional reunion with one of the first young people she ever helped.

Dame Ellen MacArthur - of The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust based which sails from Largs Yacht Haven - met Maxine Duggins, who was just ten years old when she went on a transformational sailing trip with the charity.

Maxine was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a type of bone and soft tissue cancer.

Now 30, Maxine and Ellen reconnected to discuss the significant impact of that support, which she credits for the direction her life has taken ever since.

Maxine said: “The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust gives you back a bit of your personality. School was on pause, so my life was just treatment.

"You go on a trip, have this new experience, learn all different kinds of things and you’re able to share that.

"Now there was another layer to my life that wasn’t about cancer, it was about silliness and fun.

“It gave me hope there is life after cancer, still fun to be had, still enjoyment. This isn’t going to be my world forever. There are still good times.

Largs and Millport Weekly News:

“Because I was a child, I didn’t necessarily recognise the positive changes that were happening to me immediately.

"It’s something you look back on and realise there has been a profound transformation.

"I don’t know if I can quantify how the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust has impacted my life now, but there’s no doubt that it has.”

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, which inspires young people to believe in a brighter future after their treatment ends, is celebrating its 10th anniversary of sailing out of Largs in 2023, and its 20th anniversary overall.

It works with hospitals and primary treatment centres in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness to support young people aged eight to 24 following their cancer treatment.

Dame Ellen added: “The memory of Maxine on that trip remains one of the most vibrant of all the Trust trips I’ve been on.

"When she arrived, she was so fearful of doing anything. She almost seemed brittle, because she’d had such a horrific operation. I’ll never forget her telling me about it.

"But as the days went by, she wasn’t brittle anymore. Physically and mentally. It became about what she could do.

“The trip was so profound, and I was there from the moment her mum dropped her off to the moment she picked her up.

"I saw that transformation. It summed up everything the Trust is about, it really did."

Since 2003, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust has supported 3,137 young people like Maxine.

Donate to support more young people to believe in a brighter future at www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org/donate/.