Ann sadly died on August 17th, 2023 after a long, stoic and typically selfless battle with T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL). She was only 47. Ann leaves her adoring husband Neil and beloved 5 year old daughter Elodie. Ann was also a much loved daughter to Dave and Marian, sister to Ruth, the coolest aunt to Harry and Emma and a close friend to many.

T-PLL affects only around 1 out of every 1,000,000 people in the population, and is still seen as incurable. Most patients do not live beyond 1-2 years of their diagnosis, with stem cell transplant representing the only slim hope of recovery. Even with stem cell transplantation, most patients do not survive beyond 5 years and many others - including Ann - do not respond to initial chemotherapy making them ineligible for stem cell treatment in the first place.

Put bluntly, T-PLL's rarity means that pharmaceutical companies are unlikely to invest in research aimed at novel, targeted therapies against T-PLL. However, new treatments developed for more common types of leukaemia and lymphoma may hold promise.

More generally, despite decades of progress, only half of leukaemia patients live longer than five years after their diagnosis. We need to do better.

Leukaemia UK are a charity that fund only the best, innovative research into leukaemia and lymphoma, carried out by expert scientific and clinical researchers.

Any donation, however small, helps get us closer to the next breakthrough treatment that could give leukaemia patients like Ann more of a fighting chance. We would hugely appreciate any support you feel able to offer.

Thanks so much.

Love,

Neil x