3 months ago it suddenly became a lot more relevant in my life. I’ll get to the point. My best friend was diagnosed with a brain tumour after collapsing in Watford whilst leaving collage.  My
best friend. James Stone has been my partner in crime since I was 2, so as you can imagine we have been through a lot together and we have become more like
brothers.

The lead up to surgery is a blur as I spent every day at the neurological hospital in London with James, watching as his speech become increasingly slurred, his headaches worsen and his co ordination go down hill. This was myfriend who had done ‘Tough Mudda’ only one week before – albeit with a terribleheadache!!

I did everything I could to make James laugh, hiding my fears until I made the long journey
home each night.

James was taken into surgery 1 week after being diagnosed.
So it was a very quick turnaround. Having been told he was going to be in a coma for approximately 3 weeks to let his brain settle, he
woke up after just 24 hours. As you
can see that is pretty good. But just as we thought everything was okay again, we discovered the tumour was malignant. If you’re not a biology nut, in plain terms that mean the tumour was cancerous .

The journey had just begun.

My bestfriend has had to leave 6^thForm, his paper round, his weekend
job, miss parties and even Christmas because he was having Radio and Chemotherapy. He has lost all of his hair and will miss
the next and supposedly best year of his life having chemotherapy. He has a permenant tube in his arm and faces being fed through a tube and swallowing anti sickness medication to combat the nasea caused by the Chemo. He is missing concerts, festivals and even our summer holiday.

Look around you, look at your friends, it used to be 1 in 3, but now it is a terrifying 1 in 2 of us who will get Cancer.

This isn’t something that just happens to other people. My Mum lost her brother
when she was a child and now my best friend is fighting the BIG C.

James is made of tough stuff, he is brave, a fighter, after surgery before chemo started he had 2 flying lessons and that
was just for starters. Like Stephen Sutton he has a bucket List of things to do, Stephen completed 34 out of 46 with your help, teenagers like James will live long enough to complete all of theirs.