I worked at Nuffield Health from April to December 2017.  The first person I met in joining the team was a young, cheeky chap called Rhys who showed me around and got me all set-up on our project.  I got to know Rhys well and we began a weekly routine of banter, usually giving each other a hard time about all and sundry.  We had a lot of laughs, Rhys had a confidence about him as well as a real attachment to his mum (who also worked at Nuffield) and family.

I left Nuffield in December and in May while catching up with a project colleague I learned that in that time Rhys had suffered an aggressive brain tumour and passed away which just shouldn't happen to someone who was about half my age.

I'm raising money for the Royal Marsden who gave the best care to Rhys, in the words of his mum the nurses there treated Rhys as if he was one of their own.  Also to thank Marsden for the support they gave Steve Bittlestone who should have been sharing a big birthday with Melanie this year and sadly couldn't be with us.

The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money solely to support The Royal Marsden, a world-leading cancer centre. We ensure our nurses, doctors and research teams can provide the very best care and develop life-saving treatments, which are used across the UK and around the world. From funding state-of-the-art equipment and groundbreaking research, to creating the very best patient environments, we will never stop looking for ways to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.