Matthew Adams was just 18 when he lost his two-and-a-half year fight against an incredibly rare and untreatable neuroendocrine cancer called paraganglioma on 23rd May 2025.

Born and raised in Tynemouth on the beautiful North East coast, Matthew never let his terminal cancer diagnosis define who he was or get in the way of him living life to the full.

He was an enthusiastic Air Cadet with 346 (Tynemouth) Squadron, throwing himself into everything from flying and gliding to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, road marching, and adventure training. He loved the outdoors and spending time exploring Northumberland’s highways and byways on his bike with his friends, and was passionate about history – in particular the Romans and Anglo-Saxons – and dreamt of become an archaeologist.

He was at his happiest watching the sun go down from Spanish Battery in Tynemouth; walking along the North Pier and seeing dolphins frolicking in the mouth of the river; and heading out with his camera to photograph Northumberland’s spectacular coastline, striking countryside, and iconic and dramatic castles.

Matthew didn’t let undergoing 10 rounds of chemotherapy at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, followed by a drug trial in London, and then further radiotherapy treatment back in the North East, stop him from achieving.

He passed his GCSEs with top marks, completed his A-level studies and had been accepted to study archaeology at Newcastle University. He even successfully walked all 84-miles of the Hadrian’s Wall Path laden down with kit in just one week in August 2024 with his closest friends.

Matthew was funny, loyal, kind, supportive, thoughtful, determined, and generous. He was always there when you needed him, and he would be proud to know that his generous spirit is living on through Matthew’s Meals and Miles, set-up by his family to help ease some of the essential but often overlooked day-to-day care costs for young people undergoing cancer treatment.

Receiving a cancer diagnosis is devastating. But unfortunately the economic burden of travel, food, and daily necessities can compound the hardship.

Petrol, hospital parking, public transport and train fares, food, and in some cases accommodation, can average hundreds of extra pounds a month for those receiving specialist care.

Matthew’s Meals and Miles aims to take some of that pressure away for children and young people being treated for cancer at the RVI in Newcastle, which is home to the nationally and internationally acclaimed Great North Children’s Hospital, serving the entire North East of England and Cumbria.

Matthew’s Meals and Miles provides dedicated travel grants, petrol assistance, help with food expenses, and where relevant, other household bills, allowing young people and their families to focus entirely on treatment, recovery, and precious time together, without extra overheads causing major stress.

Matthew’s Meals and Miles is being administered by Children’s Cancer North, the independent regional charity supporting young people and their families affected by cancer across the North East and Cumbria.

Every penny raised goes directly to providing practical travel support and meals for young cancer patients and their support networks.

No young person or their caregivers should ever find themselves struggling to meet the costs of travelling to appointments, or face going hungry because they can’t afford to cater for changing taste preferences, specialised diets, or the fact that family members aren’t able to access regular meals whilst staying with their child in hospital.

This is where Matthew’s Meals and Miles can step in.

Please help us fuel young people’s journey to recovery in Matthew’s memory.