A TEENAGE cancer survivor has been inspired to help fellow sufferers by launching a new support group.

Having spent the past year battling a malignant brain tumour, Oliver Bowles will celebrate his 19th birthday in style on Monday, being chauffeur-driven to the West End Motown musical, Dancing in the Streets.

A year ago it was all very different, with Oliver celebrating his 18th birthday in hospital.

The teenager, of Rose Terrace, Addingham, had been struggling with headaches, nausea and double vision. Doctors couldn't work out what was causing the problems until a specialist diagnosed brain cancer. And it was not just a normal tumour. Of more than 100 different types, Oliver's was the rarest, sitting in the middle of his brain where the fluid drains down the spine.

The treatment involved five weeks of radiotherapy to his brain and spinal column. He had to wear a specially moulded plastic mask, which was fixed to the treatment table to keep his head perfectly still.

It has taken the past year for Oliver to recover from the radiotherapy, which caused all his hair to fall out and meant he was confined to a wheelchair for five-and-a-half months due to extreme fatigue.

The experience has given him a new outlook on life that sets him apart from many other people his age, who can't understand why he bothers to volunteer at a Cancer Research charity shop, or why he wants a career dedicated to helping others.

"My perspective on life has changed completely," said Oliver. "I get up in the morning and I'm like, let's get on with life.

"I have been so fortunate. For some people cancer is a death sentence, but I have beaten it."

Oliver will begin studying for his GCSEs at Craven College in September and wants to go to university to study to be an occupational therapist.

He is also planning to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust with two sponsored runs in May and June, a cycle ride from Lands End to John O'Groats and by running the London Marathon.

However, because of his illness he has lost some of his old friends and has found it difficult to socialise with people his own age.

"It was very, very difficult and I felt like a burden, especially to my mum, Caryl, who has been my absolute rock," he explained.

"She has stuck by me through all these things and a lot of people haven't.

"Some of my friends haven't been able to understand and I have moved on," he said.

But far from feeling sorry for himself, he has now set up a support group for 16 to 25-year-olds who have lived with a brain tumour, called Determined Survivors. The first meeting took place yesterday (Thursday) in Leeds and around 17 people signed up to go along.

Anyone interested in getting involved should contact Oliver via carylbowles@aol.com or through the charity Andrea's Gift at www.andreasgift.org.uk