Charlie Nodwell’s wife, Courtney, was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in September 2024 at the age of 40. She has recently completed her final round of chemotherapy. Here, Charlie explains why, having never previously been a runner, he will be taking onthe London Marathon on 26 April, to raise vital funds for our groundbreaking research.
Courtney’s symptoms first started in the summer of 2024. She went to see the doctor and soon afterwards received an email recommending that she had some blood tests. The subject line of the email was ‘suspected cancer’ which obviously made both of us worry. We were about to go on holiday, but when her blood tests came back fine, we were able to go away feeling relieved.
It was suggested that she had a follow-up colonoscopy and this was booked for the Saturday that we returned from holiday. By then, Courtney’s symptoms seemed to have eased a bit, and she was unsure whether to go for the procedure. But in the end, we decided there was no harm in getting everything properly checked over.
I dropped her off for the appointment and then went home to look after our children (then aged five and three). The plan was for her to call me when she was ready for me to pick her up. I never got a call from Courtney, but instead the doctor phoned, asking me to come in. At that point, I assumed he’d made the call because Courtney was still recovering from the sedation. But when I arrived at the hospital with the children and the nurses suggested they look after them, I had a feeling something was wrong. When I went into the room to meet with the doctor, Courtney was sitting there crying. They had found a tumour and were pretty sure it was cancer. It was an incredible shock, especially as Courtney was just 40 years old at the time and otherwise seemed very healthy.
The next three weeks were the worst. Courtney had to have a series of tests and scans. It was awful to know that she had cancer, but waiting to find out how bad it was felt even worse. In September, we met with the consultant who told us her cancer was locally advanced, and we were relieved that it had not spread further.
She immediately started six rounds of chemotherapy to stop any spread of the disease. Then she had radiotherapy to shrink the tumour so that it could be operated on and removed. In June 2025, she had surgery to remove the tumour.
Courtney has recently completed her final round of mop-up chemo which we hope will be her last. Her most recent scan showed no evidence of disease, so we are hoping for a positive outcome going forward.
We urgently need to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat bowel cancer more effectively – so more families can look forward to the future together. Please make a regular gift today to help us make more discoveries and save more lives.
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“I started running as a form of stress relief”
Cancer is devastating and very scary. Not only for the person receiving the diagnosis, but also for their entire family. It also shines a light on your relationships, and you find out who is truly important in your lives. We have been blown away by the support we have received from some, while others have clearly found it more difficult.
.jpg?sfvrsn=44d290a6_1 "The Nodwell family (credit: Charlie Nodwell)")
Navigating everything with young children has been extremely challenging. Our children have understood that their mummy has been poorly, and I imagine our seven-year-old has probably picked up more than we think. But I am grateful they are not older, as I’m sure that would have been harder in many ways.
It has been extremely tough to see Courtney go through everything. And while she says she always knew she would be fine in the end, it has been a very worrying time for both of us. In some ways, I am sure we are both stronger now. These experiences toughen you and I know that I have created coping mechanisms and barriers to get through it. Courtney has probably always been more optimistic than me. I am more wary about feeling too hopeful. Once you have been burned, you don’t want to think about it happening again. I suppose I just try to get on with life and not dwell on it too much.
That is where my running has come in. I used to play a lot of football in my twenties and thirties, but I never thought running was for me. I wasn’t really built for it. I used to look at marathon runners and think, ‘I could never do that’.
But when Courtney was ill, I started running as a form of stress relief. It became my coping mechanism. And once I started, and reached a certain level of fitness, I started to enjoy it. I did a few 10k runs and then decided to apply for the London Marathon. I knew that I wanted to fundraise for cancer research - it goes without saying that I am incredibly passionate about this cause and this fight. I have set myself the target of raising £2,500 but I would love to raise as much money as possible for The Institute of Cancer Research.
I know that our story is not uncommon anymore. Too many people will have had similar cancer journeys with a close friend or loved one. Worryingly, cancer, and particularly bowel cancer, is rising in the under 50s and there is still no clear explanation as to why.
“All Courtney’s treatments were made possible due to research”
We consider ourselves to be very fortunate - firstly, that Courtney’s tumour was identified so quickly and secondly, that the cancer treatment available today is nothing short of remarkable. We have been blown away at the level of NHS care that we have received, along with technological advances in things like chemotherapy drugs, targeted radiotherapy, and even down to her operation which was carried out through revolutionary robot-assisted abdominal keyhole surgery.
All these advances have been made possible due to research. The more research is done into cancer, the more ways we can prevent, detect, treat, and maybe even one day eliminate it for good. No family should have to go through this.
Cancer research is vital – if we are going to beat this disease, we have to tackle the root cause of it. The improvements in drugs and technology in the last ten years have meant that Courtney was able to get treatment which was unavailable previously. Lots of people with her diagnosis would have died ten or twenty years ago. I would like to see cancer become like AIDS – where people are able to live well with it for longer. We might not be able to cure it completely, but it would be great if advancements in science mean future generations can live longer, better lives with cancer.
To support Charlie and help raise funds for our vital research, please visit Charlie's London Marathon fundraising page.