Mother plans charity climb in memory of cancer victim son
THE mother of a teenage cancer sufferer who raised £ 5million for charity will climb Mount Kilimanjaro to continue his legacy of fundraising.
Stephen Sutton who died in 2014, aged 19, campaigned tirelessly for the Teenage Cancer Trust, which supported him in his fouryear battle with bowel cancer.
Jane Sutton said she would take on his “bucket list” of things he wanted to do before his death.
Speaking on Mother’s Day, the 52- year- old said: “Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was certainly not on my bucket list. But I thought about it for all of five minutes and followed Stephen’s advice to seize every opportunity and take on the challenge.
“I’m under no illusions and know that this will probably be the toughest personal physical challenge of my life, but one that I’m tremendously excited about.
“I’m doing it in memory of my son. I want to continue his fundraising legacy.”
Last year Mrs Sutton participated in the London Marathon to raise cash for Teenage Cancer Trust.
For her latest challenge, she will take part in a 10- day trek up Africa’s highest mountain, in Tanzania, which is set to reach the summit on October 9.
Stephen was awarded an MBE after his death, and his mother updates the blog he wrote, Stephen’s Story, to keep in touch with the public.
Mrs Sutton said: “I’m not the only person who is in this situation, but the way that I’m choosing to deal with it is in a very, very positive way.
“That’s just carrying on with the way Stephen chose to be throughout his illness. Everything was so positive, he just got on with things.
“He would have been so proud of me for doing something like this – for teaching people to make the most of every minute.”