A teenager from Bishop Monkton has seen her moving cancer awareness film shortlisted for a major national award.
17-year-old Molly Owen created My Thyroid and Me: A Young Person’s Cancer Story with the Butterfly Thyroid Cancer Trust while she was sitting her GCSEs last summer.
The former Ripon Grammar School student was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at the age of 13, two years after she first showed symptoms in her final year of primary school.
After undergoing surgery and treatment at St James’s Hospital in Leeds, Molly is now doing well and has dedicated herself to supporting other young people going through similar experiences.
Her film, produced with the national charity that supported her family during treatment, aims to provide reassurance and practical insight for those receiving a rare diagnosis.
Only around ten cases of thyroid cancer are confirmed in under-18s in the UK each year.
Molly Owen (centre) with her siblings, Martha and Stanley.
The film premiered at the World Thyroid Congress in Boston earlier this year and is now shared with every newly diagnosed young patient in the UK.
It has also been endorsed by the British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgeons.
Molly continues to volunteer with teenagers who receive the same diagnosis.
Her work has now been recognised by the Smiley Charity Film Awards, which highlight impactful charity storytelling and have supported more than 5,000 organisations since launching eight years ago.
Public voting closes on 30th January 2026.
The film can be viewed and votes cast at: https://smileycharityfilmawards.com/films/my-thyroid-and-me-a-young-persons-cancer-story
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