Jacob’s date with Sam Cam
A LEEDS teenager who survived a three-year battle with cancer was a guest at a 10 Downing Street reception hosted by Samantha Cameron this week to promote a Cancer Research UK fundraising campaign.
Jacob Ziff was 14 when he was diagnosed with cancer of the white blood cells, known as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Now in remission, Jacob said the invite to Downing Street was “a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity. I spoke to Samantha Cameron about what I’d been through and how it affected me.
“I also met Peter Andre, who was really nice, and had a long chat with him. He had a brother who passed away from cancer, so we talked about that and he asked about my disease.”
Despite the side effects of his threeand-a-half years of chemotherapy, Jacob was able to complete his GCSE and AS exams.
Now the Leeds United fan is set to start university in September, having been accepted by a number of colleges to study economics, and hopes to eventually join his father Edward in the property business.
He said he wanted to be part of the charity’s Kids and Teens campaign to try to ensure that other children did not have to endure painful treatments.
“I hope it helps to find better cures that stop children going through what they have to at the moment. You wouldn’t want anyone to go through the sort of treatment I went through. I had a lot of pain in my back and legs from one of the drugs. I struggled to walk.”
Jacob’s mother, Diane, said she was “honoured and overwhelmed” that Mrs Cameron had agreed to meet Jacob and support the campaign.