Back in May 2021 Dave was diagnosed with Oesophageal Cancer. Further tests showed this had spread to his liver resulting in a terminal prognosis and meaning chemotherapy was the only option. At this point, we were put under the care, guidance and advice of Professor Was Mansoor at the Christie Hospital.

Prof's way of communicating made the worst time of our lives much more positive than we could have hoped for. Dave went through an initial course of chemotherapy which worked better than we could have hoped for, and allowed Dave to return to enjoying the thing he loved most for another 9 months - eating!

Unfortunately, Dave's cancer was aggressive and following this small period of normality, it started to grow again. He went through a different course of chemo and a course of radiotherapy, but by this point his body was struggling to keep up and after one hell of a fight, he passed away in July 2023.

Dave remained so positive throughout everything and never thought of himself as hard done by. Much preferring the term "not everyone can roll a 6 all the time, sometimes you roll a 1 and that’s what I’ve done this time”. He was grateful for all of the amazing things he got to do in his life rather than dwelling on what he would miss out on.

Our relationship with Prof over the 2 years felt more like a friendship. We trusted him completely and we were so lucky to be under his care and advisory. Unfortunately, with Oesophageal Cancer, often by the time it is discovered, it is usually too far gone to completely “cure”. However, Prof has a dedicated research fund set up to try to understand the disease more and the best ways of fighting it. This is where any monies raised will be directed. If anyone can discover how to overcome this disease, we believe it to be Prof’s team. There is a tribute fund set up in Dave’s name at The Christie and all money collected here will go directly to Professor Mansoor’s Oesophago-Gastric Research Fund as Dave would have wanted.

The first event (of many to come over the years no doubt) that we will be taking on is an Ultra Challenge – go big or go home, right?! – we’ll be walking 100km over 2 days in the Peak District on 6th/7th July. Starting and finishing each day in Bakewell, which is where Dave would call “home” and where his in-depth knowledge of the difference between a pudding and a tart originated… It’s the perfect choice!

Taking part will be me (wife), Dean (brother in law), Chris, Alan (long standing university friends) and Carly (my best friend). Unfortunately Claire (another of Dave’s longstanding uni friends) has had to medically withdraw!

Any donations received, no matter how big or small, will be greatly appreciated. Thank you on behalf of Dave and I and everyone taking part.

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