• You might be stressing out about the impact it might have on your cancer and treatment.

• It’s true – drugs and alcohol don’t mix well with cancer. But it’s not too late to minimise the chance of doing some harm.

• In order to give your body the best chance to deal with the cancer it is important to be straight up with your treatment team about what drugs you may be using or have used in the past. This includes illegal drugs (like weed, coke or ecstasy), alcohol and cigarettes.

Doctors are not going to judge or lecture you: they just need you to be honest!

Cancer and its treatment messes with your body - your energy levels will be down and you may struggle to fight off infections. Drugs and alcohol will only make this harder.

They can:

• Interfere with the chemo and radio or other treatments you are having

• Increase the impact of any side-effects

• Increase your chances of getting things like chest infections and other respiratory (breathing) problems

• Result in other infections

• Affect your moods and behaviour, making it harder to deal with the physical and emotional challenges cancer is throwing at you

We know you know – drinking, smoking and taking drugs is not good for you. You may have tried to quit or cut down before without much luck.

But having cancer might give you as good a reason as any to give it another go.

Giving up or cutting down will give your mind and body a much better chance of fighting the cancer and of ensuring that the treatments can be as effective as possible.

Don’t be scared to ask for help to do this. For information on support centres and assistance in your local area, make an appointment to see your GP or visit your nearest community centre for a confidential chat.

It’s normal when you turn 18 to want to go out and have a drink with friends. Just keep it in moderation and stop if it will interfere with your treatment.

Remember: Any information you tell your doctors will be kept confidential.