On May 25, the new song I was only sixteen was released, which saw the collaboration of international artists including Faso (bassist of Elio e le Storie Tese) and Tony Hadley (frontman of Spandau Ballet)
Georgia is 18 years old. a patient who arrived at the National Cancer Institute in Milan. Being treated for a kidney sarcoma. And with a handful of words he was able to perfectly harness the quintessence of what stirs in the restless soul of a teenager with cancer: Do you find yourself packing your suitcase by emptying it of clothes to go dancing and filling it with hope, courage, determination and lots of pajamas. Giorgia, Riccardo, Marco, Camilla, Martina, Lorenzo… A long, unfortunately very long list of voices. Which, however, have found a solid and also very stimulating point of arrival. Is called
Youth Project
, a throbbing reality founded in 2011 within the Oncological Pediatrics of the Milanese Institute directed by Dr. Maura Massimino. Creator, promoter and coordinator Dr. Andrea Ferrari, with the support of the Bianca Garavaglia Association (born in the name of Bianca, a five-year-old girl who disappeared due to a rare form of neoplasia).
The song I was only sixteen streaming from May 25th
Why, we said, is it very stimulating? Simple: here young patients, alongside the excellence of specialist treatments and the ever-invaluable psychological support, can count on a comfort zone in which it is possible to let off steam for personal creativity. The more or less hidden artistic side. A fervent activity that has recently led these very special kids to write the lyrics for a songpoignant and poetic, I was only sixteen (“I was only 16”), from May 25 available on all streaming platforms. To translate it into notes and to interpret it, two authentic bigwigs took to the field: Faso, bassist of the group Elio e le Storie Tese (with the contribution of the musicians Stefano Signoroni, Giacomo and Tommaso Ruggeri), and even Tony Hadley, former Spandau Ballet frontman and global pop music icon.
The Youth Project
The Youth Project has radically renewed the concept of therapy, creating multifunctional rooms in the ward, right next to the hospital rooms. A he lives alone, a sort of exclusive club, to meet up with travel companions, confide in, hug each other, transmit to each other the energy necessary to not give up, laugh. And, yes, even shed a few tears. But above all create. Forging original paths with the imagination to tell each other. The list of creations churned out over time by the teenagers of Progetto Giovani is starting to be considerable: the video-song Palle di Natale, an astonishing viral hit (on YouTube it has collected over 17 million views), the comic strip Loop – Non si torna (published by Rizzoli Lizard), the Ri-Scatti photographic exhibition (set up at the Pac, the Contemporary Art Pavilion, in Milan), the YOUth 2021 photographic calendar, developed between May and September 2020 and therefore in the midst of the pandemic, the Tumorials (video -tutorials designed to help a young person deal with a cancer diagnosis), the podcast Based on a true story (coordinated by the actor and theater director Gianfelice Facchetti). Precisely from this last container come the thoughts (like that of Giorgia) which have made it possible to construct the text of the new musical work, sung in English to allow this anthem to fly far, in international circuits. In short, the Youth Project high quality care and at the same time a great training ground for the soul. Because the kids who pass through it, between one chemo session and another, produce delicious and tasty artistic fruits.
Cancer in adolescents
Cancer every year affects 800 Italian boys, between 15 and 19 years old. But also between a thousand and 2 thousand people in the 20-29 age group. Overall, 20,000 individuals in Europe. Blood cancers are the most frequent, with leukemias making up about a third of all cancers. Then, among the so-called solid tumors (which do not concern, that is, the blood cells) those of the brain prevail, followed by sarcomas of the soft parts and of the bone. Now, all these neoplastic forms are typical of childhood but can also affect adolescents and young adults. Here is the crucial dilemma. Ultimately, the hot point of the matter is the following: today there are codified treatment pathways for tumors in children and for those of mature age, yes, but… for these kids? Sick adolescents continue to represent a “middle ground” between pediatric and adult oncology, and for this reason they run the risk of arriving with difficulty or late at the appropriate centers of reference. Not to receive, in a nutshell, the best and specific treatments, explains Dr. Maura Massimino. Just to clarify: a teenager is less likely to recover than a child with the same disease.
Imagination and creativity become care
The Youth Project was born with this dual vision: on the one hand, to guarantee children access to the right clinical protocols, to therapeutic strategies specifically designed for them, and, on the other, to offer a place where those being treated can continue to express one’s passions, friendship, sport, music, Dr. Andrea Ferrari intervenes. Integrating high quality therapy and sunny quality of life: this is the miraculous recipe. A formula that in 2018 was also awarded the Ambrogino d’Oro, conferred by the Municipality of Milan, because the Youth Project has proven to represent an innovative model of global care. The stories of our boys have even become the subject of real medical-scientific reports, published in prestigious international journals such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Lancet Oncology, says Ferrari. The power of the imagination becomes a treatment path, adds the oncologist, brings beauty to the hospital, gives young people unprecedented tools to somehow reinvent the coordinates of their daily lives and to defuse that perfidious and pounding thought: “Because I ?”. And above all it offers, with projects that last several months, an idea of the future, of continuity with life, capable of instilling the right strength to restart after the cancer diagnosis and the demanding therapeutic cycles. How to say: the awareness of belonging to an artistic and life project is a powerful medicine. Furthermore, as Dr. Ferrari explains, stimulating initiatives that feed creativity also means, for the doctors of the Youth Project, having the opportunity to delve into the inner world of the boy. That is: from a psycho-oncological point of view, the close interactions that are established between these young people and the white coats allow the caregivers to be in tune with the deep perspective of the patients and to make the therapeutic journey an authentically shared experience. With passion, professionalism, a lot of effort and a lot of inspiration, the boys and staff of the Progetto Giovani, working hand in hand, have been able to transform a hospital structure into a platform where art can be promoted. And from which it becomes even possible to launch a musical hit.
May 25, 2023 (change May 25, 2023 | 1:45 pm)
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