Hi and welcome to riprap

This site is developed especially for teenagers who have a parent with cancer. In riprap, you can learn more about cancer and its treatment and through real stories you can read the experiences of other young people and share your own story.

Many in your situation feel alone with what they're going through and longing for someone who really understands. We hope you will find that here. You can 'talk' to others in the discussion forum or have a look at personal stories to share experiences with other young people in similar situations.

Also, feel free to get in touch if you would like any advice, emotional support or if you just want to talk things through, as well as asking questions that are not answered by information on the site.

As riprap is developed in the UK, we have included a directory of services - called 'support in my area' – which can help you find out about relevant services near where you live. There is also a list of links to national – and some international – organisations where you can look for further information and support.

You may wonder why we have called the site 'riprap'. The word 'riprap' means loose stones placed into a stream, onto which a firm foundation can be built. (This may clarify our logo which symbolises pebbles in a stream). So, with that in mind, we hope that this site can be one of your building blocks at a time when things may seem uncertain and at a loose end.

Riprap was developed by a team based at the University of Sheffield, UK - within the Academic Unit of Supportive Care, the Department of Oncology. The website was first launched in 2003 and we are very grateful to the New Opportunities Fund for funding the initial website development under their 'Living with Cancer' initiative. We are also very grateful for the subsequent funding from the Department of Health that enabled us to upgrade the website in 2012. Between July 2014 and September 2017, we kept riprap going thanks to the UK cancer charity Maggie’s where we were part of their Online Centre. As of 1st September 2017, riprap has no external funding and is run on a voluntary basis by the specialist cancer nurse who has managed the website since its launch in 2003.

A generous offer of free hosting from Arkom Creative Technology allows us to keep riprap online whilst we’re looking for new funding partners to secure riprap’s future existence.

We want to make this site as helpful as possible. Please visit the feedback section and let us know what you think so that we can continue to improve it.

Message to Parents, guardians, carers and family members.

You can rest assured that children / young people who contact us are supported by a highly qualified specialist cancer nurse with long experience in cancer care. The person is checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (previously the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)) and approved for working with children and young people. The support we offer at riprap is free of charge.

You may also be reassured to know that all contributions that are published on the website from those who contact us have been checked before being put online. This includes personal stories, forum posts and queries published in the advice section. We will remove names or other details that might identify the identity of those contacting us, their family members, health care professionals or others that may be mentioned in their messages. We never allow riprap visitors to exchange personal details in the forum or in any way contact each other outside their communication on the riprap website. We regret how this may hinder personal friendships to develop further, however the principle of safeguarding those who contact us has to be top priority. We hope that we can be a source of support to young people in your family and please feel free to contact us if you have any queries about our service.

Page updated 25/2/2021