“Without Weston Park, I wouldn’t be here” - Kevin’s story

In December 2021, Kevin was told he had stage 4 melanoma cancer and the earth-shattering news that he had just 12 months to live.

However, thanks to an immunotherapy treatment offered to him by Weston Park Cancer Hospital, Kevin has amazingly been told the scans are all clear and he is now able to live his life as normal.

Kevin, father of 20-year-old son Joshua, and husband to Diane, was aged just 53 when he was given the heartbreaking news that he had melanoma cancer.

After noticing he had been losing weight and waking up one morning with a lump the size of a golf ball on the lymph nodes in his neck, Kevin went to his GP.

His GP referred him to the Royal Chesterfield Hospital who straight away referred him to Weston Park for scans and screenings. It was there he was given the news he had cancer and that it had spread to his lungs and lymph nodes.

After his diagnosis, Weston Park offered Kevin an opportunity to receive treatment which saw him receive two types of immunotherapies at the same time.

When Kevin was at Weston Park receiving his treatment, he received an uplifting message from Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp. This message gave Kevin the push to keep positive and he immediately started a Just Giving Page called ‘Wave Goodbye to Cancer’ which raised £5,848.

After receiving treatment, Kevin spent several weeks in hospital but was given the fantastic news in July 2022 that his scans were all clear and now only needs to go into hospital for scans every three months.

Kevin said: “I can’t believe the year or so that my family and I had during 2022. From being told I had a year left to live, to then receiving the overwhelming news that my scans are now all clear. It’s been a rollercoaster.”

“I genuinely cannot thank Weston Park enough for all their amazing care and treatment. From the kind staff to the fantastic facilities, my care was outstanding. I am still in disbelief the treatment worked. My consultants were truly unbelievable, and I feel blessed to have had successful treatment.

“To put it simply, without Weston Park, I wouldn’t be here”

Kevin, who works as a business manager at Meadowhead School in Sheffield, was given his diagnosis around a year after his colleague Debbie was given the news that she also had melanoma cancer.

Very sadly, Debbie passed away earlier this year.

To honour Debbie and to thank Weston Park and Weston Park Cancer Charity, Kevin, along with Meadowhead Staff, raised a very impressive £5,000 as part of their fundraising efforts for the charity’s Walk as One event in September.

Kevin said: “We wanted to give something back to the hospital that helped me and Debbie so much. We also wanted to raise money for Weston Park Cancer Charity and to do something in memory of our lovely colleague, Debbie.

“She would be very proud of us all and our pupils and delighted with the money raised for such a worthy cause.

“Weston Park Cancer Charity provides truly outstanding support for our community, and I urge anyone to donate so they can continue to provide their vital services.”

For more information on our cancer support services, call 0114 553 3330 or email charityteam@wpcancercharity.org.uk.