Past pupil Molly's cancer film nominated for major award

A FORMER Ripon Grammar School student who was diagnosed with cancer when she was thirteen stars in a charity film which has been nominated for a major award.

Molly Owen made ‘My Thyroid and Me; A Young Persons Cancer Story’ while in the middle of sitting her GCSEs at RGS last summer.

The 17-year-old, from Bishop Monkton, first displayed symptoms of thyroid cancer when she was in her last year of primary school, but it was not properly diagnosed until two years later.

Molly, whose two younger siblings Martha and Stanley are in years 7 and 11 at RGS, underwent surgery and other treatment at St James's Hospital in Leeds and is now doing well.

With the aim of helping other young people facing a similar diagnosis, Molly made the film with the Butterfly Thyroid Cancer Trust, a national charity based in Newcastle which provided much needed support for Molly and her family during her treatment.

The condition is extremely rare in children – there are only around ten cases diagnosed every year in under-18s in the whole of the UK but numbers are increasing.

The film, available on YouTube, premiered at the World Thyroid Congress in Boston USA earlier this year, and is now given to any young person diagnosed in the UK. Molly also provides voluntary support to teenagers with a new diagnosis.

Endorsed by BAETS (British association of endocrine and thyroid surgeons), Molly’s film has been nominated for the Smiley Charity Film Awards which, since its inception eight years ago, has emerged as a cornerstone of positive change in the UK, supporting over 5,000 charities and captivating the engagement of over 1 million individuals.

Voting closes on January 30, 2026

Visit this link to view and vote: https://smileycharityfilmawards.com/films/my-thyroid-and-me-a-young-persons-cancer-story

Molly with her siblings, Martha and Stanley

Molly when she was at RGS