More than a dozen cancer survivors picked up rubbish on a Tuen Mun beach recently as a gesture of their gratitude to the community that helped them through their illnesses. The survivors are members of the Little Life Warrior Society, one of the beneficiaries of last year's Operation Santa Claus. The society joined other non-governmental agencies to clean Golden Beach in Tuen Mun this month as part of the International Coastal Cleanup campaign, held from September to November. 'We are survivors and we were helped in the past,' society chairwoman Yip Yan-yan said. 'That is why we want to do something for the community.' The society, based at Prince of Wales Hospital, was set up in 1999 to relieve depression among patients and their families, and enhance their confidence in cancer treatment. Since then, the society has expanded to about 600 members and has gone beyond being just a patient support group. A variety of activities are run at the hospital including tea gatherings, annual parties and doctors' lectures on cancer treatment. Former patients share their experiences. The society also gives talks in schools, and sends regular newsletters to 300 mainland hospitals. Some survivors joined a fund-raising walk yesterday from The Peak to Lan Kwai Fong to help the brain tumour unit at Prince of Wales Hospital. The previous Sunday, its choir performed at a fund-raising event at Ronald McDonald House. Some children with cancer stay at the charity centre while recuperating. Ms Yip knows from her own experience how strong the feeling of paying back the community is among survivors. She survived cancer when she was a child. 'Like many survivors, because you were helped, when you're OK you really want to contribute back, and hopefully you can help some other people as well,' she said. The society is refurbishing a resource centre located on the mezzanine floor of the hospital's Children's Cancer Centre. Due to open in December, it is named 'Home'. 'It will be a place where inpatients, survivors and parents can enjoy the facilities,' Ms Yip said. Arts and crafts, tutorials, English lessons and sharing sessions are being planned. Of more than 1,350 children treated for cancer at the hospital, about 950 are still alive. The survival rate is about 70 per cent. Each year, there are about 150 new cancer patients in Hong Kong. Cancer is the second most common cause of death among children in the city - about 40 to 50 children die of cancer every year.