Ryan discovered a strange looking mole in his groin area in October 2012 and attended Orpington Hospital dermatology department where the mole was instantly removed.  Two weeks later Ryan was referred to St Thomas's Hospital where he underwent numerous tests and scans, and was operated on again on 10th Dec 2012 and three lymph nodes were removed and sent for analysis.

Ryan received the final diagnosis on 3rd January 2013 and was told the devastating news that he had stage 4 Metastatic Malignant melanoma and was told the cancer was not curable but treatable.

Ryan's Treatment
Ryan was referred to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton for further treatment.  Marsden Hospital applied for permission to put Ryan onto a drugs trial using (Venurafenib) this was agreed by the licensing authorities and Ryan was the first 16yr old in the world to undergo this pioneering treatment.  Initially the drug began to work and shrink the many tumours in Ryan's body, but then 12 weeks into the trial, the drugs stopped working without warning and Ryan suffered complications almost immediately.
Ryan was then admitted into the Marsden Hospital and was given a drug called Ipilimumab but unfortunately the Cancer was too fast and aggressive.

Ryan's Care
On Monday 22nd Aptil 2013 we brought Ryan home to care for him, where he died aged 16yrs on Friday 26th April 2013 with all his family and friends around him.

Ryan's Funeral
Ryan was buried at Kemnal Cemetery on 4th May 2013 and over 500 people attended to show their respect, support and to celebrate Ryan's life.

Ryan Lives on
We continue with Ryan's charity to raise awareness, and of course to raise money in the hope that one day we will find a cure.

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