Patient stories

Erin Kennedy MBE is a British Paralympic coxswain. In 2022, at the age of 29, she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, and was successfully treated. She later found she has a mutation in her BRCA1 gene which means she has a higher risk of her cancer returning. In the summer of 2023, she supported our Finish Cancer campaign. Here she tells her story.

Hannah Tarplee was four years old when her parents noticed a lump in her tummy which turned out to be a cancerous tumour. Despite intensive treatment, it became untreatable, and Hannah died just seven months after the lump was discovered. The Little Princess Trust, which was set up in her memory, funds our research, as one of our valued family charity partners. Her mum, Wendy Tarplee-Morris, explains how Hannah’s legacy is now giving hair and hope to thousands of children and young people.

Siobhan Mather was two years old when she became lethargic and didn’t want to eat. Tests revealed she had a tumour above her adrenal gland - it was neuroblastoma. With treatment, Siobhan went into remission and her family and friends raised money to fund a trial abroad. Sadly, the cancer returned, and Siobhan was unable to travel. She passed away in June 2019 when she was four years old. Her parents, Sarah and Antony Mather, explain how they’re using the funds raised to support our research as one of our valued family charity partners.

Glenys Gregory recently became a grandmother, but at one point, she’d wondered if she would live to see him born. In January 2020, Glenys was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer after nursing her mother through the same disease. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, she went straight onto immunotherapy and a scan in summer 2023 revealed that she had no evidence of disease. Here she tells her story.

Camilla Keeling was a month away from celebrating her 61st birthday when she was diagnosed with skin cancer. After having it removed, she thought she was in the clear but not long after, she found out it had spread to her lungs, and later, her brain and bowel. She is now receiving immunotherapy which has seen her tumours shrink and given her renewed hope. Here is her story.

On his daughter’s second birthday in 2009, John Dabell was diagnosed with advanced head and neck cancer. He went through extensive surgery and treatment and was on the road to recovery when he was diagnosed with cancer again – this time, a tumour in his throat. John was told he didn’t have long to live. But then he started immunotherapy. Here, he talks about its incredible impact and the opportunity it’s given him to spend more time with his wife and daughter.

Daniel Davidson’s mum, Amanda Hood, died of cancer during the pandemic, just months after her diagnosis. Now to celebrate her life, he is running the 2023 London Marathon as part of #teamICR. Here Daniel explains why, despite the challenges of working on an oil rig in the North Sea and not being a keen runner, he is determined to take on this gruelling race to raise vital funds for our research.

Susanna Stephenson was diagnosed with breast cancer just three days before her 42nd birthday in 2014. Following treatment, the mum of two has now recovered and is part of our amazing #teamICR runners taking on the 2023 London Marathon.