In March 2023 our dear friend Luke Johnston, aged just 35, received the devastating diagnosis of a stage 4 glioblastoma, following the discovery of a brain tumour. The diagnosis comes with a truly bleak prognosis: the average glioblastoma survival time is 12-18 months – only 25% of patients survive more than one year, and only 5% of patients survive more than five years.

It was only last year, in 2022 that Luke was celebrating his marriage to the wonderful Niamh in Northern Ireland, surrounded by their nearest and dearest. A year later and all those plans about how’d they’d spend the rest of their lives together have been cruelly curtailed.

But there is some hope. They’ve recently learned about a ground-breaking new treatment called DCVAX-L, they knew they had to do everything in their power to help. This personalised cancer vaccine is made from each patient's own dendritic cells, which help the immune system recognise and attack tumour cells. However, the treatment is expensive, costing between £150,000-£250,000, and not currently available on the NHS. We hope this vaccine becomes accessible for Luke and if it does, we pray that it can extend his time with us. If the vaccine doesn't become an option then the funds will be used for bucket list experiences.

The size of Luke’s friendship network is a testament to the type of character he is. Kind, warm and uniquely eccentric, Luke is truly one-of-a-kind. And the response and support from his friends and family has been incredible. One initiative already in the planning stage will be Luke’s ‘March to the Arch’ – a walk from Exeter to Wembley to watch England vs Italy in October. Over 20 walkers will take on the challenge of walking an average of a marathon every day for eight days.

But the truth is, they won’t be able to raise the sort of money required without your help. And that’s why we’ve set up this page. Luke’s got some ambitious targets planned for the next chapter of his life: Starting a family, watching England win the World Cup in 2026, and working his way through a lifetime’s supply of Jaffa Cakes and Bourbons.

Luke's March to the Arch is not just a walk; it's a symbol of hope and a testament to the power of friendship and community. With every step, the walkers will be raising awareness and funds for this ground-breaking treatment, giving Luke and other cancer patients like him a chance to fight this disease and live a full and happy life.

Any donation you can make to the cause will be appreciated beyond measure. Thank you for taking the time to read Luke’s story.

We recognise that there are other fundraisers being organised away from 'March to the Arch' and would like to encourage those raising funds through an auction, gala dinner, running a marathon, hosting a BBQ etc. to still use this page as their main fundraising platform.

UPDATE

On reflection of 2023, what a year we have had with your overwhelming generosity, love & support through all of your fundraising & donations. We have reached our initial milestone of £150K, so for that, we are forever humbled and grateful.

As the year came to an end so did Luke’s initial treatment within the NHS. To date, he has completed 30 fractions of radiotherapy followed by 6 months of chemotherapy.

2024...

We have had a couple of months offline to try and get some normality back. However, we are sorry to say this has once again been cut short.

After a routine MRI scan in January 2024, it has been confirmed that the cancer has unfortunately returned. Luke is due to have further surgery on March 8th 2024 to remove as much of the tumour as possible, and we hope that we can then move forward with the DCVAx treatment or other possible trials or private treatments.

The fight continues...