‘I wish I could speak to someone my age,’ says nurse calling for better support for young adults dealing with grief  

After losing her father to cancer, at age 17, to now watching her mother and grandmother battle the disease, Yasmin Robins, 20, is advocating for more support and awareness for young people dealing with grief.  

In January 2021, Yasmin’s father, Neil Robins, was diagnosed with liver cancer.  

Three months later, in April, doctors informed Neil that he had just three months left to live.    

On June 2, two weeks before Yasmin’s 18th birthday, her beloved dad, Neil, at the age of 61, passed away.  

“It was six months of hell. None of it felt real,” Yasmin said. 

She continued: “We were actually on holiday in Dubai for Christmas just before he was diagnosed and everything was absolutely fine, life was perfect.  

“Then when we came home, we noticed that he had a really bloated stomach, so we went to the doctors, and they said it was liver cancer.”  

During this difficult period, Yasmin was studying for her A-levels, applying to universities, and interviewing to become a student nurse. 

Yasmin, from Brighton, said: “I remember during the final stages of interviewing for my job, I had this all day long zoom call. My mum was at work, so during any break that I had, I was rushing downstairs to look after my dad. It was so stressful.  

“I pushed through it because I really wanted the job – it was the only positive thing that I had in my life at the time.  

“A week after my dad passed, I got the call to say I had got the job.” 

Two years after his passing, Yasmin is continuing her work as a student nurse at Brighton’s Montefiore Hospital. 

Yasmin said: “It still doesn’t feel real. It still feels like one day I’m going to wake up and my dad is going to be here. We were really close.  

“I definitely went through a period of just hating the world, wondering why this happened to me and how could it happen to me, I’m so young.  

“I just couldn’t understand how in six months my whole life could change.” 

In May 2023, Yasmin’s mum, Tara Robins, 52, found a lump in her throat.  

“At first we thought it was tonsillitis because she had no real symptoms, and my mum is really fit, she is sea swimmer, eats really well and goes to the gym every day, so at first we didn’t think much of it,” Yasmin said.   

However, when the lump started to grow, Yasmin arranged an appointment for her mum to be seen by consultants at the hospital.  

The appointment fell on Yasmin’s 20th birthday, when Yasmin was in London with her friends to see Harry Styles.  

She recalled: “I just remember her calling me on my birthday to say it’s lymphoma cancer and I just felt like the whole world was against me again. It was horrible. 

“My mum is kind of all I’ve got left. I was literally praying every night to God just saying please, please, please let this all be fine.” 

After further tests, doctors diagnosed Tara with non-Hodgkin lymphomas.  

“This news was a lot more positive than I was expecting. Mum is now going through chemo and awaiting scans to confirm if the cancer is gone,” Yasmin said.  

However, in January 2024, Yasmin’s grandmother, Susan Lacey, 76, was diagnosed with breast cancer.  

“This has been really difficult for us, we are really close to my grandma, so it has been hard,” she said.   

Yasmin’s grandmother is currently awaiting MRI results to know more about her diagnosis and treatment plan.  

Yasmin said: “If I’m honest it just feels like the whole world is against me every time.  

“I’ve always thought of myself as a good person and you do just think, I went from a perfect childhood, big family, two parents still together, great friends and then in the space of two years everything has changed.”

This year, on February 25, Yasmin will be running the Brighton Half Marathon in memory of her dad and in support of her mum and grandma during their battles with cancer. 

Yasmin is fundraising on JustGiving for Macmillan Cancer Support and has raised over £3,500.  

“Macmillan have been incredibly supportive. The emotional support they provided helped so much with my dad and my mum,” she said.  

However, Yasmin explained that she is not only taking on this challenge to raise money for Macmillan, but she is also trying to raise awareness for young people dealing with grief.   

She explained: “You just don’t hear people talk about it much. I find that the average person going through grief is quite a bit older so it feels more normalised for those in their 40s or 50s and it’s like they are more emotionally aware of what could happen – it’s less of a shock to the system.  

“Whereas when you’re 17 years old and you’ve got a happy and healthy dad and then six months later, he passes away, it is so traumatic and a huge shock.” 

Yasmin descried the impact of losing a parent so young as not only a massive loss in the present sense but also a loss in the future.  

She explained: “On top of that loss, you also miss out on so much, your dad walking you down the aisle, him seeing your children, him seeing your first day of work, your graduation – I’m going to miss all of that. 

“I don’t think it’s normalised or talked about how much that can affect you. I don’t know anyone else who has lost a parent or can relate to how I feel.  

“I wish there was more out there so I could speak to someone my age who could understand what I’ve been through.” 

Yasmin, who has never enjoyed running and is training alongside her 12-hour long shifts at the hospital, said: “Even if I walk a little bit, that’s fine, I’m doing this to raise money, I’m not an athlete I don’t care about the time I get, I just want to raise some money for Macmillan and some awareness for other young people who have been through similar things to me.” 

Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager at JustGiving said: “Yasmin’s story is profoundly moving, and a testament to her incredible strength and resilience. 

“It’s truly inspiring to see how she has bravely shared her experiences to bring some much-needed attention to the difficult challenges that young people face when coping with grief. 

“We at JustGiving wish her the best of luck in the race and in her mission to help others.” 

To donate to Yasmin’s fundraiser, click here.  

NOTES TO EDITOR

For further information contact  press@justgiving.com

About JustGiving
JustGiving is the world’s most trusted platform for online giving. We help people raise money for the charities and people they care about the most. In 2000, JustGiving.com began with one simple goal – to enable charities to receive donations online from anywhere in the world. Fast forward 23 years and over $9 billion has been raised for good causes in almost every single country in the world.

JustGiving became part of Blackbaud, the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good in 2017.

To note – JustGiving does not charge a fee on donations but instead operates a voluntary contribution model, meaning people donating can choose to leave a ‘tip’ if they wish. The only non-optional fee is a 1.9% + 30p to cover card payment charges.