This is a story rooted in the joy and brilliance of the hospitality industry and the often lifelong and meaningful friendships it brings. This is also a story of a mission ahead that came from the pleasures of that same industry one night in the pub six months ago.

We are a group of 6 (Young Man, Taylor, Davina, Sarah, Jimmy, and Louise) who met and became good friends whilst working together at a hotel, 27 years ago. We have remained in each other’s lives over that time, sharing our successes and challenges and seeing one another grow up. On this particular night, there was a lot of reminiscing and an endless amount of laughter and a reminder of how the youngest in our crew had always been known to us. Our hugely talented pastry chef was just 16 years old at the time and being in his first role since he left school, he had been affectionately nicknamed, “Young Man” early on by the Head Chef.

We all filled in the gaps from the last few months since we’d last been together and all the ups and downs life brings. One of those stories was a little different to the rest as Steve, our ‘Young Man’, had recently been diagnosed with bowel and colon cancer.

In late 2021 while holidaying in his family’s favourite Portugal spot, Steve began to experience early signs that something wasn’t right. Returning home, he visited his GP, who advised his symptoms didn’t indicate cancer and that an overhaul of his lifestyle would do the trick to bring him back to health.

His symptoms persisted and worsened over the following 11 months, causing him to lose around 5 stone in that time. Eventually after chronic pain in his upper back and chest and several further visits to the GP, his doctor ordered a CT scan. On 1st December 2022, he and his family were given the life-changing news that Steve had Stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to his liver, adrenal gland and his lungs.

With the committed support and encouragement of his wife Sasha, daughter Yazmin and son Corey, Steve commenced chemotherapy treatment in late January 2023. The first 12 rounds were quickly impactful in getting rid of one of the tumours on his liver. However, the next CT scan showed that the chemo had stopped working. The next course of chemotherapy was much more aggressive, a form that affects the nervous system but always looking ahead, Steve committed once again.

A recent scan has shown that this new chemo has now begun to slow down and will stop working too. There are alternatives and other forms of treatments that Steve will undergo in the coming months, with the support and positivity always found at the Burton Chemotherapy unit, particularly caring and mindful of the impact on Steve’s two children.

Steve & Sasha together with their family continue to fight this unfair and indiscriminate disease. Determined to kick cancer’s butt in the best way they can, they are just living life to the fullest and returning to their beloved Portugal for Easter this year, celebrating family, friendship and all the good things in life.

This is about Steve’s journey and the support we can give him but it is also about the power of the industry we all still work in, in one way or another. The strength of connection and companionship we all found working long shifts, split shifts, AFDs, weddings, parties and then partying most nights ourselves forged a bond that has lasted almost 30 years.

No one in our group has been left untouched from knowing someone who has experienced cancer and never ones to shy away from a challenge, Sarah and Louise wanted to do something that could help in some small way.

And so it is with that commitment, on Saturday 4th May, they will be walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks, a beautiful albeit challenging 12 hours and 24 miles to raise funds for two brilliant charities, one that is very close to Steve’s heart, Burton Hospital’s Chemotherapy Suite and Cancer Research UK.