The two charities we have chosen in James' memory are Royal Trinity Hospice for the excellent care and support that they gave to all of us during the last weeks of James’ life, and British Liver Trust for the work they do in raising awareness and advocating for change in the diagnosis and treatment of liver disease.

Royal Trinity Hospice provides hospice care and community support to terminally ill patients across central and south west London. The team at Royal Trinity believe that every moment matters, and they will do everything they can to help patients and their families make the most of the time they have left together.

Aside from being a very worthy cause in its own right, Royal Trinity occupies a very special place in our hearts. As some of you will know, James was ill for the last nine months of his life, and was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer just a few short weeks before he died. During the last 5 weeks of his life, Royal Trinity provided us with a safe, peaceful place to be together, with the wonderful team of nurses, healthcare assistants, doctors, support staff and volunteers providing seamless, round-the-clock care for James. The work of the team at Royal Trinity allowed us to pass our final days with James without having to worry about any of the menial, day-to-day tasks that would otherwise have taken up much of our time – something that we will always be eternally grateful for.

With all of their specialist services being free to patients and their families, Royal Trinity relies on donations to ensure the vital care they provide can continue – each year they receive only 1/3 of the amount needed from the NHS, with the remainder coming from donations and their charity shops.

British Liver Trust, which includes Liver Cancer UK, is the UK’s leading liver health charity, dedicated to improving liver health for all and supporting those affected by liver disease and cancer by raising awareness, providing support and influencing change.

James' liver cancer diagnosis came as a huge shock to us, made even more devastating by the stark reality of the outcomes expected for those diagnosed with this little discussed disease.

Liver disease and cancer often have no symptoms until serious damage has already occurred. Only 20% of people diagnosed in the UK with liver cancer are diagnosed at an early stage - a stage where treatment is likely to be effective in the longer term. As a much underfunded and underpublicised illness, the work The British Liver Trust does to improve early detection of liver disease and associated cancers is key.

If you’ve read this far, I hope you understand why these are such important charities to us, and all that is left is to ask you is to please, dig deep and support these much needed causes. Any donations will be gratefully received and will mean a huge amount to us, Royal Trinity, British Liver Trust, Liver Cancer UK and all of the individuals that their work might help in the future.

Thank you so much

Penny and family