Wootton man backs landmark £25m Blood Cancer UK appeal in mum’s memory

Aaron Anderson, 27, lost his mother Lisa to leukaemia in April 2024, when he was just 24 years old.

Lisa had responded well to chemotherapy and received a bone marrow transplant with a donor match found in the United States – but she became unwell again in January 2024 and passed away at the end of April, not from the cancer itself but from an infection contracted in hospital.

Aaron is now supporting Blood Cancer UK's Trial Treat Beat, a £25 million appeal to fund groundbreaking clinical trials into the deadliest blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukaemia, myeloma and high-risk lymphomas.

The trials have previously shown transformative results in treating prostate cancer, with Blood Cancer UK saying the results give new hope for thousands of blood cancer patients.

In the two years since losing his mum, Aaron has channelled his grief into fundraising. He has organised an annual charity football match in Lisa's memory, raising nearly £20,000, completed a skydive for Blood Cancer UK and is training for the London Marathon.

But the football match, he says, is about more than fundraising. It offers a deliberate space for men to talk about what they are going through. He said: "Life after is really important. You kind of feel some guilt that your parent isn't here, but it's what you do with the time afterwards that matters.”

Aaron believes his mum would have agreed to a clinical trial if one had been available, and is convinced that awareness is the single biggest barrier standing between families like his and the research funding that could change outcomes.

"If people aren't aware, they're just not going to be interested, and blood cancer charities don't get the same spotlight as others,” he said. “That has to change. Mum would have wanted me to do something with this, and I intend to. You don't get a long life. But what you do with it counts."

Helen Rowntree, chief executive of Blood Cancer UK, said: "For too long, people with some of the deadliest blood cancers have been left behind by progress. Through Trial Treat Beat, we're investing in groundbreaking clinical trials that could double the survival rate for thousands of people across the UK. With the public's support, we can give more people the chance of life after a blood cancer diagnosis, and families more time with their loved ones."

Dr Rubina Ahmed, director of research at Blood Cancer UK, says: "These can be incredibly difficult diseases to treat, and we need to find effective new treatments, faster. Trial Treat Beat gives us the opportunity to test promising treatments in a smarter way, so we can identify what works and focus our efforts where they can make the greatest difference for people affected by blood cancer."

To find out more about blood cancers and support Trial Treat Beat visit the website.