A Tribute to Rob Ward

21.03.1964 - 07.08.2019

Last year, I was due to run a number of 10ks, half marathons and the London Marathon last year in memory of my dear brother Rob who I lost to cancer in August 2019.  Unfortunately, the impact of Covid proved that pretty much everything was cancelled last year.  I am now hoping to run the Summer 10k, the Landmarks Half Marathon, the Great North Run and the London Marathon this year in memory of Rob, to keep his legacy going and to raise very much need funds for Cancer Research UK whose overall fundraising target has been massively hit this past year.

Read on for a tribute to Rob.....

No one can ever prepare you for the loss of a loved one. Even though we all knew Rob's cancer could not be cured, we thought he would go on for ever. It certainly seemed that way for a while……

Rob was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer in April 2012 just 4 weeks before I lost my mum to cancer.  He defied all odds, surviving the disease for over 7 years. He faced his illness with dignity, grabbing life by the balls and living it to the full. He never once complained and would never let his illness inhibit his lust for life. On occasions, people would often comment how brave Rob was and he would just respond that he wasn’t, he was simply dealing with what life had thrown at him. His humbleness and humility are what people loved most about him.

After Rob’s diagnosis, he decided he wanted to see as much of the world as possible going on many amazing holidays with his wife Lysa, including New Orleans, Australia, Borneo, China, Cuba, New York, Tel Aviv and many more. Rob packed so much into those 7 years, probably more than most people would in a lifetime.

Rob spent many hours attending cricket matches, supporting his beloved Kent and then Essex when the travelling got too much for him. He had the best cricket tan I had ever seen, looking as if he had just returned from a fortnight in the Bahamas. He also had a love of the arts and attended many exhibitions at the Tate Modern and Tate Britain. In the old days, Rob would often go along to Plough Lane and support Wimbledon FC; in later life he followed Lysa's passion and attended the "Hammers" on occasion and then took local team Redbridge FC under his wing and became a regular for the "Motormen".

Rob also loved spending time with me and my twin sister, Linda. We often went out for lunch, drinks and dinner, chewing the fat and having the best belly laughs ever. We even introduced Rob to the “selfie”, taking many pictures of the three of us pulling the most ridiculous of faces and laughing our heads off. Rob also loved to take us to the cricket, a passion also shared by Linda and me. In fact, Rob taught us both how to play cricket at the tender age of 5 and he would be thrilled if we ever bowled out his mates or spanked a 4 off their bowling!

Another of Rob’s passions was his love of music and in particular live music, attending a whole host of gigs around the UK and abroad - you would very often find Rob in the mosh pit……

Having found out during Christmas 2018 that Rob had exhausted all treatments, his quality of life sadly diminished and he was therefore reliant on Lysa and carers 24 hours a day to look after him. Lysa has spent the last 7 months doing the most amazing job of looking after Rob, something many of us simply could not have done. Linda and I are extremely grateful to her for the love and attention she gave our big brother during those last few months. He simply adored her.

I am completely heartbroken that cancer has taken my dear brother – he was just 55. In the 1970s, 1 in 4 people survived cancer, now its 2 in 4. With continued investment in research, this could be 3 in 4 patients by 2034. Think of the difference this would make to those diagnosed with cancer and their families. Without research and ground-breaking treatments, we could have lost Rob much sooner than we did. I am truly grateful that he defied the odds and we were all lucky enough to have had this most amazing man in our lives for longer than we thought.

He is sorely missed by so many.

xx RIP Rob xx

Love Debs xxx

Please scroll down to view a gallery of pictures of Rob with his loved ones

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