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Stephen Sutton
Stephen Robert Sutton MBE (16 December 1994 – 14 May 2014), was an English blogger and charity activist known for his blog Stephen's Story and his fundraising efforts for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity for the aid of teenagers with cancer. By the second anniversary of his death, £5.5 million had been raised in his memory.
Sutton performed well at school, but withdrew his applications to university in 2012 after his terminal prognosis for colorectal cancer. His father had fought the disease twice, and both were predisposed to it through Lynch syndrome. Sutton had struggled to get a diagnosis, as doctors did not believe that colorectal cancer could occur in someone so young. He made a "bucket list" of things to do in his final months and achieved many of them, such as becoming a Guinness World Records holder. He began fundraising for the Teenage Cancer Trust, receiving support from celebrities and politicians. In 2013, he met filmmaker Grigorij Richters, who recorded him for a documentary.
Sutton died on 14 May 2014 at the age of 19. A memorial service to him at Lichfield Cathedral was attended by over 10,000 mourners. After his death, he was posthumously recognised for his activism with awards, including being made an MBE and receiving an honorary doctorate from Coventry University.
Stephen Robert Sutton was born on 16 December 1994 in Burntwood, where he attended Highfields Primary School and Chase Terrace Technology College. He was a very active child, participating in sports and athletics, particularly long-distance running and football. He had a trial at Walsall F.C. at one point, and set a record in the under-15 400 m run at his school. Sutton received top marks from Chase Terrace Technology College in August 2012, and had interviews at Cambridge University to study medicine, as well as universities in Leicester and Leeds. He later withdrew his applications before getting a verdict when his colorectal cancer was determined to be incurable.
Like his father Andy, Sutton had Lynch syndrome, a genetic predisposition to colorectal cancer. His father had surgery to remove part of his intestine after a cancer diagnosis in 1989. 20 years later, he had another tumour removed and a second course of chemotherapy, receiving the all-clear only months before his son was first diagnosed. Doctors initially diagnosed him with constipation and prescribed laxatives, despite his father's insistence that there was a risk of colorectal cancer in the family; he was repeatedly told that teenagers were too young to have the illness. In his final interview, Sutton confessed that he had a degree of "anger" towards the amount of time taken for his cancer diagnosis, but would not lament it.
Sutton was diagnosed with stage 3B colorectal cancer at the age of 15, and subsequently went through aggressive radiation and chemotherapy treatments. He was declared cancer-free, but a tumour returned behind his knee, which was treated by further chemotherapy. Doctors considered an amputation of Sutton's left leg, but the tumour had already spread to other parts of his lower body. In December 2012, two years after the initial diagnosis, the cancer was deemed incurable after spreading to the lungs and liver. Sutton did not ask how long he was expected to survive, choosing to measure his life in the difference he could make, rather than in time. On 24 January 2014, in a speech at London's O2 Arena, he called his first diagnosis "a good thing. It was a huge kick up the backside, it taught me to take nothing for granted, and gave me a lot of motivation for life".
After his diagnosis, Sutton began participating in charity events with the Teenage Cancer Trust, and later started his own website and blog in January 2013. At the same time, he began fundraising for the trust, with an initial goal of £10,000. Following unexpected support, the goal was raised to £100,000 and £500,000 the same year, before being raised to £1,000,000 in March 2014 and went over the £4,000,000 mark by the end of May 2014. During his fundraising campaign, Sutton was supported by several celebrities, most notably Jimmy Carr, Jonathan Ross and Jason Manford. Manford donated £10,000 and gave all the turnover from his own comedy clubs for the entire month of May to the charity. Following Sutton's hospitalisation in April 2014, Manford became the unofficial spokesperson for the charity, appearing in interviews promoting the cause. He also launched the campaign "#thumbsupforStephen", asking people to share selfies of themselves promoting the campaign.
Sutton's goal of £1,000,000 was reached on 23 April 2014, and on 2 May, he was discharged from the hospital following an improvement in his condition. Later that same day he also met with prime minister David Cameron, who voiced his support for the campaign. On 4 May, Sutton helped break the Guinness World Record for 'The most number of people making heart-shaped hand gestures', with 554 people at Chase Terrace Technology College.
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Stephen Sutton
Stephen Robert Sutton MBE (16 December 1994 – 14 May 2014), was an English blogger and charity activist known for his blog Stephen's Story and his fundraising efforts for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity for the aid of teenagers with cancer. By the second anniversary of his death, £5.5 million had been raised in his memory.
Sutton performed well at school, but withdrew his applications to university in 2012 after his terminal prognosis for colorectal cancer. His father had fought the disease twice, and both were predisposed to it through Lynch syndrome. Sutton had struggled to get a diagnosis, as doctors did not believe that colorectal cancer could occur in someone so young. He made a "bucket list" of things to do in his final months and achieved many of them, such as becoming a Guinness World Records holder. He began fundraising for the Teenage Cancer Trust, receiving support from celebrities and politicians. In 2013, he met filmmaker Grigorij Richters, who recorded him for a documentary.
Sutton died on 14 May 2014 at the age of 19. A memorial service to him at Lichfield Cathedral was attended by over 10,000 mourners. After his death, he was posthumously recognised for his activism with awards, including being made an MBE and receiving an honorary doctorate from Coventry University.
Stephen Robert Sutton was born on 16 December 1994 in Burntwood, where he attended Highfields Primary School and Chase Terrace Technology College. He was a very active child, participating in sports and athletics, particularly long-distance running and football. He had a trial at Walsall F.C. at one point, and set a record in the under-15 400 m run at his school. Sutton received top marks from Chase Terrace Technology College in August 2012, and had interviews at Cambridge University to study medicine, as well as universities in Leicester and Leeds. He later withdrew his applications before getting a verdict when his colorectal cancer was determined to be incurable.
Like his father Andy, Sutton had Lynch syndrome, a genetic predisposition to colorectal cancer. His father had surgery to remove part of his intestine after a cancer diagnosis in 1989. 20 years later, he had another tumour removed and a second course of chemotherapy, receiving the all-clear only months before his son was first diagnosed. Doctors initially diagnosed him with constipation and prescribed laxatives, despite his father's insistence that there was a risk of colorectal cancer in the family; he was repeatedly told that teenagers were too young to have the illness. In his final interview, Sutton confessed that he had a degree of "anger" towards the amount of time taken for his cancer diagnosis, but would not lament it.
Sutton was diagnosed with stage 3B colorectal cancer at the age of 15, and subsequently went through aggressive radiation and chemotherapy treatments. He was declared cancer-free, but a tumour returned behind his knee, which was treated by further chemotherapy. Doctors considered an amputation of Sutton's left leg, but the tumour had already spread to other parts of his lower body. In December 2012, two years after the initial diagnosis, the cancer was deemed incurable after spreading to the lungs and liver. Sutton did not ask how long he was expected to survive, choosing to measure his life in the difference he could make, rather than in time. On 24 January 2014, in a speech at London's O2 Arena, he called his first diagnosis "a good thing. It was a huge kick up the backside, it taught me to take nothing for granted, and gave me a lot of motivation for life".
After his diagnosis, Sutton began participating in charity events with the Teenage Cancer Trust, and later started his own website and blog in January 2013. At the same time, he began fundraising for the trust, with an initial goal of £10,000. Following unexpected support, the goal was raised to £100,000 and £500,000 the same year, before being raised to £1,000,000 in March 2014 and went over the £4,000,000 mark by the end of May 2014. During his fundraising campaign, Sutton was supported by several celebrities, most notably Jimmy Carr, Jonathan Ross and Jason Manford. Manford donated £10,000 and gave all the turnover from his own comedy clubs for the entire month of May to the charity. Following Sutton's hospitalisation in April 2014, Manford became the unofficial spokesperson for the charity, appearing in interviews promoting the cause. He also launched the campaign "#thumbsupforStephen", asking people to share selfies of themselves promoting the campaign.
Sutton's goal of £1,000,000 was reached on 23 April 2014, and on 2 May, he was discharged from the hospital following an improvement in his condition. Later that same day he also met with prime minister David Cameron, who voiced his support for the campaign. On 4 May, Sutton helped break the Guinness World Record for 'The most number of people making heart-shaped hand gestures', with 554 people at Chase Terrace Technology College.