A YOUNG cancer survivor visited the Prime Minister's pad to hail charity which helped her find normality after a "devastating" diagnosis.

Sophia Steinsberg, from Radley near Abingdon, mingled at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday at a reception which celebrated childhood cancer charity CLIC Sargent.

The national charity, which supports young cancer victims battling the disease, helped Miss Steinsberg after she was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer aged just 12.

The 20-year-old said: “Being diagnosed with cancer is one of the most difficult things any child has to face. What is even harder is making the transition from being a normal child to facing an enormous lifestyle change - living in hospital, losing your hair and stopping your education for an uncertain length of time.

“That is what makes CLIC Sargent an incredibly special charity. They make the transition so much easier than any child could envisage when they are given their diagnosis. With their support children manage to find normality even under the most devastating circumstances."

The charity assigned her a nurse who visited regularly to monitor her osteosarcoma, a type of cancer which develops in growing bones and caused a painful tumour in her right knee.

She battled the disease throughout her teenage years at the John Radcliffe hospital in Headington, where she had chemotherapy and a pioneering treatment which saw a bionic bone fitted in her leg.

Miss Steinsberg added: “Being a guest at Downing Street was a wonderful experience, it was very exciting to be invited inside our Prime Minister’s home."

She thanked David Cameron's wife Samantha, who hosted the event, for supporting the charity.

The gathering saw Miss Steinsberg chat to some of the 100 guests about her experience of cancer and CLIC Sargent, which she has since fundraised for.

At 13-years-old she was picked by supermarket giant Tesco to front its annual charity campaign which also recognised CLIC Sargent's work.

Guests at Downing Street included other young people who had been helped by the charity, plus its ambassadors including sport broadcaster Jake Humphrey and chief executive Kate Lee who spoke about the charity’s ambitions.

She said: “Our young people are at the heart of everything we do so it was an honour to hear from them during the evening and find out more about the impact a cancer diagnosis has had on their lives and the difference CLIC Sargent was able to make.

“We are determined to be there for every child and young person diagnosed with cancer who needs our support and the reception was a great opportunity for us to raise awareness of the work we are doing and the plans we have to continue changing what it means to be diagnosed with cancer when you’re young.”

For more information about the charity visit clicsargent.org.uk.