Wednesday, 23 April 2014

‘Hanging in there as best I can’: Cancer sufferer hits £1million fundraising target

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‘Hanging in there as best I can’: Cancer sufferer hits £1million fundraising target after ‘final thumbs-up’

Cancer teen 'hanging in there' as donations hit £1million
Final thumbs up: Stephen’s farewell gesture from his deathbed (Picture: News Team)
A teenage cancer sufferer has told supporters he is ‘hanging in there’, as donations to flood to his JustGiving page hit £1million.
Stephen Sutton, 19, gave his ‘final thumbs-up’ yesterday morning, saying: ‘I’ve done well to blag things as well as I have up till now, but unfortunately I think this is just one hurdle too far.’
In a moving post on his Facebook page, Stephen’s story, he said it was a ‘shame the end has come so suddenly’ but that ‘life has been good’. 

The post, which included a link to his Teenage Cancer Trust JustGiving page, was widely shared online, with celebrities including Piers Morgan and Jason Manford pledging their support.
This morning donations were flooding in at a rate of over £25,000 an hour, hitting the magic £1million mark just after 11am.
(Picture: JustGiving)
Stephen has now reached his £1million target (Picture: JustGiving)
Comedian Jason Manford, who had publicised the fundraising effort, confirmed Stephen was aware he’d hit the landmark target.
Last night he thanked his supporters for their well-wishes, telling his followers on Twitter he was ‘hanging in there’.
Stephen was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2010 aged 15. A year after having the tumour removed his cancer returned, and at the age of 18 he was told his cancer was terminal.
He then compiled a bucket list of 46 tasks that he wanted to complete before his death.
Stephen Sutton gave a speech at Downing Street July 17 2013. See News team story NTICANCER: A teenager with terminal cancer who won the hearts of the nation after raising over £500,000 for charity as part of his bucket-list said a "final thumbs up" farewell from his death-bed. Stephen Sutton, 19, raised a staggering £572,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust through his Facebook bucket-list challenge which he started last year. The inspirational teenager set himself the daunting task of raising £1 million for the charity after smashing his initial target of £10,000. His incredible spirit and optimism won him fans from across the globe including celebrities like comedians Jimmy Carr and John Bishop who met the teenager.
Bucket list: Stephen Sutton gave a speech at Downing Street in July last year (Picture: NTI)
He has since managed to tick off 35 of those, including hugging an elephant, crowd-surfing in a rubber dinghy and playing the drums in front of 90,000 people at a Wembley cup final.
Stephen also aimed to raise £10,000, but soon surpassed this. After reaching £572,000 in just over a year, earlier this month Stephen announced his intention to increase his target to £1million.
Stephen Sutton with Jimmy Carr February 2013. Stephen Sutton (19) has been battling cancer since the age of 15, Burntwood, Lichfield. A teenager suffering incurable cancer has made a bucket list of 46 things to do before he dies. See NTI story NTCANCER. Brave Stephen Sutton, 19, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer cancer on September 6 2010 at the tender age of 15. Within six months he underwent a hemicolectomy to remove a tumour from his bowel. His weight plummeted from a healthy 57kg (9st 4lbs) to just 47kg (7st 4lbs), although in May 2011 he found himself in remission, only for the cancer to return five months later. Following months of chemotherapy, scans showed a tumour on his leg had continued to increase in size and doctors prepared to amputate his left leg above the knee. But before they had a chance, the cancer spread to his pelvis in December 2012, it was at this point his disease was deemed ìincurableî by the doctors. However, despite the disease being incurable, he has continued to fight and raised over £500,000 for cancer research in just 13 months months. The teen also jotted down 46 things to do before he dies, including going on a ëlads holidayí, hugging an elephant, crowd surfing and seeing a football match at Wembley Stadium. Stephen, from Burntwood, Staffs., has already managed to tick 35 things off his bucket list, which was made on January 13 last year.
Celebrity support: Stephen Sutton with Jimmy Carr (Picture: NTI)

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