Young woman helps cancer patients around the world
Antonia Rubio wants to help more young people with their experiences of cancer
- Published
A Jersey woman has been helping other young people who have been diagnosed with cancer around the world.
Antonia Rubio was 24 years old when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer after falling ill in 2020.
She shared her journey with treatments and how it affected her on social media gaining more than 18,000 followers on TikTok.
Ms Rubio has been nominated for the BBC Jersey Make a Difference Awards for this work in raising awareness about cancer for young people and supporting others in places like America and Australia.
Molly Ralston and Antonia connected over social media about their cancer experiences
Molly Ralston is being treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma in America and met Ms Rubio over social media.
She said it had "been a very long, difficult road” but Ms Rubio’s posts really did "help people feel not alone, especially younger girls like myself”.
Ms Ralston added: “Seeing someone else my age go through something very similar is very inspiring to me because it shows that if she can do it I can do it as well.”
Ms Ralston is in hospital for her bone marrow transplant to finish her cancer treatment.
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Ms Rubio has been in remission for more than six months and works with groups like the Teenage Cancer Trust and CLIC Sargent to help other young people affected by cancer.
She said the nomination was “such a shock to me” and it was recognition for “anyone that helped me on my journey” as well.
“I have people that I speak to every single day in Australia and America and I have built a community of people battling cancer,” Ms Rubio added.
She also said a video of someone talking about their cancer diagnosis “saved my life” and knowing she has “potentially saved other people's lives just brings me joy”.
Caron Rubio never expected her daughter to help as many people as she has
Caron Rubio nominated her daughter for the Make a Difference Awards.
She said she was “so inspired” by her daughter and she has “made such a difference to thousands of people and she continues to do so”.
She added: “I would not wish anyone to hear their daughter got cancer and Antonia makes me proud every single day”.
The BBC Radio Jersey Make a Difference Awards winner will be announced in September.
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