The Kids Are Alright
	By HUGH PORTER | London

	Photograph for time by Mark Guthrie

The stars embrace like old mates. "We were short of a support act tonight so that lot [Oasis] have pulled themselves together — now I've got to support them," Daltrey explains.

For the last three years Daltrey, who lost a young sister to cancer in the late '70s, has been calling on all the mates he can muster to stage an annual series of benefits for the Teenage Cancer Trust, an organization he has been involved with since his doctor founded it in 1991. This year an ambitious run of six nights saw acts as diverse as Coldplay, Eric Clapton and Madness turn up and raise the roof — few refuse when Daltrey beckons.

The proceeds from the gigs are used to build dedicated hospital units for the specific needs of teenage cancer sufferers, which the Trust says produce a 15% better chance of recovery over general cancer wards. "That is for no medical input at all," says Daltrey. "It's purely psychological support in being in an environment that doesn't feel like a hospital, around people of your own age."

This June in Liverpool, he will open the eighth such unit, built with money raised at the 2000 concerts. His motive is simple; he may be 59, but the man who sang the ultimate teen anthem hopes people won't die before they get old.

Previous: Andrea Riccardi	Next: Albina du Boisrouvray

	Bad Drug Makes Good [Feb. 3, 2003] Thalidomide, once the most feared of medications, is now showing promise as a cancer treatment Targeting The Big C [Dec. 16, 2002] New techniques aim at hitting the cancer cell target without colateral damage The Enemy Within [Sep. 18, 1996] Though no "magic bullet" is at hand, cancer is gradually succumbing to a slow but steady dose of strategies Search all issues of TIME Magazine Premium Content