A life to celebrate

Sue and her husband Barry are leaving gifts in their Wills to Cancer Research UK to help beat cancer for future generations

We all cherish the precious legacies our relatives leave behind – whether it’s family stories, photographs or the way they helped others. When it comes to your own legacy, one of the most powerful ways you can make a difference is by funding life-saving cancer research through a gift in your Will.

Sue and her husband Barry both wanted to leave money to Cancer Research UK after experiencing the devastating disease firsthand. In 1997, Sue’s mum died of suspected breast cancer and just 18 months later, she lost her father to prostate cancer. Then her sister Jen died of an aggressive cancer in her ear. Just months after Jen died, Sue was herself diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I was heartbroken and terrified to be facing a cancer diagnosis so soon after losing my family,” Sue says. “But Cancer Research UK were there for me every step of the way.”

Sue had surgery and radiotherapy to treat the cancer. During her treatment, she was prescribed tamoxifen and anastrozole. These drugs are available on the NHS thanks in part to the work of Cancer Research UK.

“My life was saved because Cancer Research UK make sure that patients like me have access to the medication we need,” Sue says.

When Sue’s doctors gave her the all clear, Barry surprised her with a trip to the Canary Islands so they could celebrate in a special way. This year she will mark 20 years of living cancer free.

Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of progress that has led to more people than ever before surviving cancer. But one in two people in the UK born after 1960 will still get cancer in their lifetimes. Cancer Research UK is determined to make sure they get the best treatment possible and see three in four patients surviving cancer by 2034.

“Barry and I have both doubled the money we’re leaving Cancer Research

UK in our Wills to save other families from suffering what we’ve been through,” Sue says. “I’ve had 20 more precious years of life thanks to Cancer Research UK. Now, Barry and I want to help the charity build a world where everyone survives cancer.”