A pledge to help his family
How one man has made a pledge to support the research that can help beat cancer for future generations
Jo Williamson loves the outdoors. He has tackled a number of the Munro hills in his native Scotland, as well as trekking into Machu Pichu in Peru and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. His biggest challenge in life though has been his family’s fight against cancer.
In 1993 his wife, Sue, was diagnosed with a very rare cancer called a phaeochromocytoma and unfortunately it had spread to her bones. “We were told that she had six months to live which was very hard as our children were aged 16, 14 and the twins were 12,” Jo says. Fortunately, Sue was able to have a radioactive treatment that enabled her to continue living a normal life with her family until she sadly passed away in 2003.
“In 2010, we found out that the faulty SDHB gene that had caused Sue’s cancer was hereditary,” Jo says. “My two eldest children do not have the faulty gene, but my twins Jennie and James do.” James has subsequently had six tumours removed. Jennie has a tumour that cannot be operated on and has sadly recently discovered that the cancer has now spread to her bones. Jo has also found out one of his grandchildren has the faulty gene.
Although Jo’s family’s experience with cancer is rare, this disease can affect anyone. In fact, one in two people in the UK born after 1960 will get cancer in their lifetime*. Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress. In the last 40 years its research has helped double cancer survival in the UK, and Jo is keen to support the charity’s work. As well as raising thousands of pounds through charity events, he has used Cancer Research UK’s Free Will Service to leave a Legacy. “I am leaving a Legacy because we have been fighting cancer as a family since my wife Sue was diagnosed in 1993,” Jo says. “I will continue to fight cancer until I pass away, so why not continue when I am gone? I hope my Legacy will encourage people touched by cancer to realise that they can help Cancer Research UK scientists find cures.” *Ahmad AS et al. British Journal of Cancer, 2015