As many of you know, in March 2017 our dear friend Chris, aged only 36 at the time, went for a routine colonoscopy for some tummy trouble and completely unexpectedly was diagnosed with not one but two primary cancers:  Stage 4 Bowel Cancer in his sigmoid colon, together with stage 2 testicular cancer

Unfortunately for Chris the bowel cancer turned out to be a particularly aggressive strain called Signet Ring Cell, which is extremely rare and as a result very under researched, it affects just 0.5-1% of patients with colon cancers.

Despite the best care the NHS has to offer, numerous and gruelling bouts of chemotherapy and a number of pioneering surgeries over the past 2.5 years, the cancer has once again re-emerged and Chris and Sarah now find themselves in a position where they are running out of NHS treatment options and have been forced (and advised by Chris’s NHS team) to look into possible private treatments, which they will need to pay for themselves.

We have been fundraising for a number of months now and the response has been truly incredible, already raising in the region of £38,000! This has enabled Chris access to a drug they advised was a solid hope called Cetuximab, which was only available privately to him at the cost of £12,500.

Chris received the targeted therapy drug, along side chemotherapy for a number of months & the team believe it may have held/slowed the disease for a period of time, but sadly now the cancer has become resistant to this combination, has grown and is now pressing and obstructing vital organs.

His team have discussed all alternative options that Chris might be eligible for, however most of these are only accessible to private patients.

Some of the drugs discussed have only just begun as drug trials, they can be extremely difficult to source & can cost in excess of £100,000, but these drugs have shown good response in clinical trials and drug studies so far!

The journey they have already faced has been both heartbreaking and exhausting for the family - (the full story is outlined below.)

Chris and Sarah do so much for other people through Chris’s work in the fire service and their charitable work for their charity ‘Charity for Kids’.  We are determined to support them in anyway we can -  many of you have already come forward and said you would love to help in some way, to prevent Chris and Sarah facing the unnecessary stress of financial pressure or debt, when they have so much to tackle as it is.

This page is a communal page so that anyone raising money can jointly donate here and we can see our efforts pool together, to help make a difference, to our remarkably brave friends.

We thank you for anything you can do to help support or contribute in some way. The smallest of donations can help make a huge difference to the lives of this young and courageous family.  

The Mepham Family’s journey so far:

As we already mentioned above, in March 2017 Chris, after a routine colonoscopy for some tummy trouble and completely unexpectedly, was diagnosed with two primary cancers. 

At the same time they also recently found out that Sarah was pregnant with their second child, news that should have brought nothing but happiness, but instead was wrapped up with worry as well as practical issues of how a heavily pregnant Sarah, would care and support Chris, on lengthy hospitals stays in London and support their other young daughter Esmae (aged 3 at the time).

In April 2017, Chris underwent six hours of surgery under the care of the Royal Marsden in London, to remove what cancer they could. They discovered very quickly that the bowel cancer had spread to his peritoneum, leaving seedlings like tiny grains of sand, scattered across his stomach lining and cavity. These seedlings are rarely picked up or reveal themselves on scan imaging, so are often very difficult to diagnose and because of that, are incredibly dangerous. Chris also learned the testicular cancer had spread around his Aorta, and was pressing on his IVC (main vein travelling through the centre of the body - a massive challenge for the skilled surgeons at The Royal Marsden).

Once Chris had recovered from this major surgery, he was advised that chemotherapy was going to be the next treatment & he underwent twelve gruelling rounds of chemo, together with a targeted biochemical drug called Cetuximab.  (Amid all this surgery, various treatments, hospital stays and endless hospital appointments ,Sarah gave birth to their second beautiful daughter Connie)

Finally in November 2017 the family received wonderful news that the cancer had responded well to treatment and Chris was now eligible for a pioneering procedure at St Mary’s hospital called “HIPEC”, (a 12 hour operation, where a hot chemotherapy wash is used to treat the peritoneal disease).  This huge operation went ahead in January 2018, accompanied by a long and tiring recovery for Chris and his family.

Chris recovered remarkably well and in March 2018, Chris and Sarah were thrilled to hear the news that the procedure had been a great success and Chris was effectively cancer free! Sadly that was short lived and two months later the cancer showed itself in his liver.  Another operation to zap the new tumour in the liver, with good response and the family were finally able to focus on some much needed family time.

Fast forward five months to the end of 2018 and Chris became worryingly unwell; sadly the cancer had once again returned and this time was completely obstructing his bowel, putting him in a life threatening situation, with an immediate nine hour life saving operation, his only option.  After a yet another lengthy battle and tough recovery driven by Chris’s outstanding determination, he was finally able to focus once again on special times with Sarah, Esmae and Connie. 

Even with the seemingly good news, the oncology team decided that a course of ‘mop up’ chemotherapy would be sensible for Chris, as the disease had caused such devastation with its last re-occurrence, they couldn’t be sure it hadn’t travelled around his body once again.

Chris was on chemotherapy since the beginning of February 2019, but during that time his blood tests caused his team some concern and it was confirmed the cancer had once again returned in the peritoneum and lining of his stomach - a complete blow for the family, having come so far in 2 years!

With the wonderful response to the fundraising we set up, Chris was able to pay for the Cetuximab drug, recommended by the team and they believe this may have held/ slowed the disease for a period of time. Sadly it is now clear this combination is no longer working and alternatives options are so desperately needed.

At this stage treatments are becoming more limited for the couple and Chris has spent most of the summer since July, in and out of hospital both locally and in London, as the tumours in his peritoneum (stomach cavity) continue to grow and is now pressing on vital organs.

As of the beginning of September, Chris has been admitted to St Mary’s in London, as he is no longer able to eat or drink and sustain himself nutritionally, so he has to have nutrition Intravenously. The hope is for further life saving surgery, to rid as much of the cancer from the organs as possible and enable Chris to proceed to some other form of private chemotherapy/ targeted therapy drugs.

We want to try and raise not only enough money for any of these private options that might be possible both here or abroad, but also to support the family with the huge travel expenses as Sarah commutes to and from London with the children and to relieve the financial pressure they face, with two very young Children.

Our aim is to give Chris and Sarah more options and hope for the future.