Tim ... our wonderful husband, father and grandfather, very sadly passed away on 1 March 2021, having just turned 66 years old in February. Words simply cannot describe how much we loved and adored him. We have taken great comfort from the many messages we have received from Tim's friends and colleagues. It was interesting that there were common attributes throughout ... a true gentleman.. warm and kind ... generous and wise counsel ... interested in others ... great fun ... a wry sense of humour ... to name a few. It is hard to  accept that someone with as much "joie de vivre" as Tim was taken from us so suddenly and prematurely.

Tim's illness

Many people did not know that Tim was unwell until shortly before he passed away, or indeed until they received news of his death. Tim's illness was brief but extremely aggressive. 

Despite the restrictions imposed on us all in 2020, Tim kept himself busy every day in the garden, pulling silly faces at his grandchildren, spending the summer in France and enjoying a canal boat and walking trip in Yorkshire in October. 

In November Tim noticed a pain in his ribs which we thought may have been caused by gardening. One day the pain became severe and he was taken to hospital by ambulance. The scans and blood tests undertaken showed nothing untoward and Tim carried on as usual.

In December Tim complained of severe back ache and was prescribed strong painkillers. Blood tests taken at the end of December showed no further cause for concern. However an MRI at the end of January revealed abnormal changes in his bones. This came as a shock. In very little time Tim became breathless, had difficulty walking and lost all interest in food and drink. 

On the 11 February Tim was admitted to hospital for lymph node and bone marrow biopsies and for assistance with his breathing. He walked into hospital that day and we could not have imagined that he would pass away just over 2 weeks later. While in hospital Tim was given bad news on a daily basis and declined rapidly. Cancer had spread into his bone marrow, lungs and liver but despite various biopsies and scans, doctors were unable to identify the primary source. Cancer treatment could not begin until the primary source was identified. Our final hopes were pinned on a scan to take place on Friday 26 February which would show all areas of cancer in his body. However that morning the medical team decided Tim was too weak to be taken to another hospital for the scan. It was yet another blow. 

In hospital Tim was given almost daily blood transfusions. Over the weekend of 27 - 28 February and unbeknown to us all, Tim developed a blood condition caused by the cancer and was moved to intensive care to receive a blood plasma treatment. This blood condition creates small blood clots in tiny blood vessels throughout the body and ultimately led to Tim falling unconscious and suffering a fatal cardiac arrest in the early hours of Monday 1 March. Thankfully he was unaware of the deterioration in his condition and remained hopeful, yet apprehensive, of being told later that day that although the primary source could not be identified, some form of general treatment was planned.

The University of Birmingham Cancer Research UK Unit

Many people have kindly asked to make a charitable donation in Tim's memory. We have spent considerable time choosing an appropriate charity. The difficulty we have faced is that Tim’s illness was so short and much remains unknown, although doctors now suspect that the cancer may have originated in the pancreas.

Given Tim's tragic experience we have decided that research into early diagnosis of cancer is entirely appropriate. We have chosen to fundraise for the University of Birmingham’s Cancer Research UK Unit, for various reasons.

On a personal note, in 1974 while studying Law at the University, Tim met his wife, Barbara, and some lifelong friends. 

The University of Birmingham’s School of Cancer Sciences has earned global recognition for the quality and impact of its work – it is home to the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Centre and the Cancer Research UK clinical trials unit.

We have chosen to support a new research project led by Rik Bryan, the Director of Birmingham's Bladder Cancer Research Centre, to develop a blood test capable of detecting cancer in the very early stages as the cells start to change. 

The research will be built by analysing profiles of hundreds of blood samples and looking to identify proteins in the blood that may be unique to specific types of cancer. Samples will be collected from various researchers across the University. Although Rik’s initial focus is in bladder cancer, it is hoped that this research will start the journey to developing many different blood tests capable of detecting multiple types of cancer at an early stage, thereby saving more lives.

Rik is already working in partnership with a diagnostic test company and has some promising early results from bladder cancer patients. This provides a good foundation for making a test available to the NHS once the research has progressed through more clinical studies and trials.

This is the start of a long term research project and funding is crucial to produce early data. Achieving our target of £15,000 will fund preliminary pilot research to analyse more samples.

This research requires a laboratory technician to prepare the blood samples before testing them with a very sophisticated assay. If more samples can be analysed, then the data becomes more meaningful and accurate and a better stepping-stone to larger clinical studies. 

£10,000 would allow 60 more bladder cancer samples to be analysed and then be compared with other cancer samples and samples from healthy people.

£15,000 would allow 60 more bladder cancer samples to be analysed and for the team to select another 30 samples from patients with other cancers, based on the results so far.

£20,000 would allow 60 more bladder cancer samples to be analysed and for the team to select another 60 samples from patients with other cancers, based on the results so far. This would give a strong initial idea as to how accurate the test could be, and provide good data that would support further larger studies. 

Please note that 100% of the donations made will be sent directly to this area of research.

Thank you for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page. Your kind donation in Tim's memory will help save the lives of other cancer sufferers and give hope to their loved ones.

Barbara, Christopher, Katie and Tom

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.