Firstly, thank you for making the conscious effort to click the link. Most of you visiting this page will know me or one of my colleagues at NatWest and will have probably already heard this devastating story about my son’s diagnosis. But, for anyone who has stumbled across this page, or has been forwarded it by some kind soul, I will do my best to give you a brief explanation of our situation.

Life is so fragile.

One moment you can be fit, healthy, active and alive. The next moment you can be diagnosed with Stage IV, Grade III Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Cancer. A week later you can be told you have 6-12 months to live.

Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it. This is exactly what happened to my oldest son, Adam, 33. We all remember too vividly taking the first call when he told us ‘something was wrong’… That was in July 2019, when his wife was seven months pregnant with their first child, we instantly assumed the worst… and then Adam told us that the doctors had found lesions on his Pancreas, Liver and Lungs. Just like that our lives had changed forever.

Neuroendocrine Pancreatic Cancers are known as ‘the silent killer’ due to their lack of observable symptoms making them incredibly hard to identify during the early stages of growth, when the widest variety and most effective treatments are available. Adam’s Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumours (P-Nets) are exactly that - silent killers. By the time Adam felt anything wrong with his body it was already too late. He played 5-a-side football the week before being admitted to hospital (only a little short of breath); he cycled to and from work nine miles each day (a bit more tired than usual but not of note); he still had bigger biceps than his younger brother James (according to his wife at least). It turned out that during that fateful first visit to hospital they came close to sending him home following numerous tests, there was ‘nothing visibly wrong’… That was until they found an 11cmx5cm (!) tumor in his Liver. With the stakes raised, the devastating truth was not far behind.

Adam is the oldest brother of five siblings (James, Philippa, Peter and Madeleine), and husband to his childhood sweetheart Chrissy and now father to his new born baby girl Amelie… For anyone who has come across him they would struggle to say a bad word about him, and for those who know him well, the praise is simply too great to list. He is hard working, humble, and honest. His laugh is infectious and his spirit unbreakable. He is what everyone wishes for in a son; leading the way through life, knowing too well that his mistakes are his siblings’ guidance and his successes are their inspiration.

Adam is already proving to be a great father. But this is where we need your help.

We are hoping to raise a substantial amount of money to put towards funding future research for P-NETs - as new treatments are a clear differentiator in sustaining Adam’s life for as long as we can, giving him the best chance at seeing Amelie’s birthdays of years to come.

Adam will never give up, and with the continuous development of future treatments he has a sense of positivity that frankly defies belief.

If anyone can win this battle, we believe it’s Adam. 

Accordingly, I will be undertaking the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge with my colleagues from NatWest and my youngest son Peter (and anyone else who wants to join us). The three peak challenge is 24 miles long and includes an upwards ascent of 1585m. Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough are the three peaks and the challenge is to complete the peaks in under 12 hours.  

Wish us luck.