While both being treated for leukaemia in hospital in 2019, Courtney and Cameron built a supportive friendship that helped make their cancer experience easier to face. Cameron was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in September 2018. “My symptoms were fatigue, swollen gums and the next day there was a blind spot on my left eye. When I was diagnosed, I felt lost and didn’t know what was happening. I did not go home and was there for a month. It was a slow realisation I was going to be in for so long. Cameron had four cycles of chemo over five months and in December, he met Courtney who had just been diagnosed. One night, while on the ward, Cameron saw someone post on Instagram saying that they was on the same ward - it was in the middle of the night and Cameron messaged back to say he was next door. “We met the next day and chatted from there. We immediately had so much in common and so much to talk about. Cameron was told he had no signs of cancer in February 2019. But in June, his chest pains returned and got a cold - the cancer had come back. “I didn’t even watch much TV and there are days I cried – it was a horrible time and I wanted to just walk out and go home, but I am so glad I didn’t and I made it through it all. I just want to get my life back. In the future, I want to go and help raise awareness of cancer at schools and colleges.” Courtney had been feeling unwell during the last few months of 2018, but put it down to his busy schedule working internationally as a model and also playing semi-professional football for Coalville Town. “I was feeling so rundown and fatigued but thought it was due to being so hectic. “My girlfriend Lauren is an intensive care nurse and said I should go to the doctor and we went on the Monday. That night, at 10.30pm, I got a call from the hospital to come in as they had found something irregular. “They said they wanted to run some tests and please could I come in with a bag. I could see from their expressions straight away that something was not right. They said they thought it was leukaemia and I was shocked but I was not processing it. In the same month that Courtney was diagnosed, he found out that Lauren was pregnant. After visiting a sperm bank, because he feared the impact chemotherapy would have on his fertility, the news came as a welcome surprise but the couple worried for the health of their baby as it was conceived while he was ill. They also had to endure periods of separation, including when Courtney was left fighting for his life with a sepsis infection that made it too dangerous for Lauren and their unborn baby to be near him. Cameron’s cancer unfortunately returned and he passed away on 26 May 2020. He died peacefully, surrounded by his family. “Cameron was loving, kind, full of humour (and cheek), and one of the best kinds of people this world had to offer.” 1 in 2 people in the UK will get cancer during their life time. Every pound you give helps speed up life-saving cancer research, bringing treatments to people who need them, faster. DONATE: https://www.standuptocancer.org.uk/wa... SEE MORE STORIES: https://www.standuptocancer.org.uk/ab... ABOUT SU2C: https://www.standuptocancer.org.uk/about Find us: FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/standuptocan... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/su2cuk INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/su2cuk/

• published: 23 Oct 2020
• views: 7535