Teenage cancer patient Stephen Sutton life story online as donations hit £2.4m

[The _Don]

Amazing, I have donated.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...-life-story-online-as-donations-hit-2.4m.html

http://www.justgiving.com/stephen-sutton-TCT

 

[MDC250]

What a strong kid remaining positive from such cr@ppy circumstances.

Stories like this make you realise just how sweet life is.

Would be nice if everybody on the forum donated... even a couple of quid would be a decent sum overall.

Know there is no such thing as a bad charity and people are always getting tapped up for one thing or another but payday has just been or coming for the workers out there...

 

[grober]

Just announced he has died. A brave lad RIP

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27408818

 

[developer]

Sad news indeed.

 

[dredd32]

Very sad news. He's done a lot to raise awareness as well as money..£3.2m so far..I haven't donated but only because I donate to other cancer charities.

The only thing that rankles are the handful of donators who said they felt duped because he went home for a few days and showed a slight improvement..

RIP Stephen Sutton

 

[Sp!ke]

RIP poor chap.

Not wishing to go off topic but I was wondering why the cost of certain cancer drugs is too high for NHS treatment? The reason for the high costs apparently is having to recoup the cost of the research.

So where does the money given to cancer research charities go actually go and does it offset the cost of the drugs in anyway?

 

[whitenemesis]

If you consider the average cost of bringing a new drug to market is between $1-2 billion and anywhere between 10 - 20yrs, the relatively small amounts raised by charities is but a drop in the bucket. They fund the initial stages of research, the cost of post docs and university programes.

This ref is a little out of date but gives an indication of the costs involved

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthew...truly-staggering-cost-of-inventing-new-drugs/

 

[Doodle]

From what I saw while working at Oxford for a cancer clinical trials dept, it depends on the charity and their remit, and what research they are involved in etc etc, a discussion that is simply too long for here. However, I can tell you that it can be obscenely expensive to fund and while £3 million might sound a lot, it doesn't make much of a dent.

For example, some of the trials I was working with had a recruited data set of just half a dozen patients, and it took 18 months to get that many. Effectively you're dealing with bespoke drugs or procedures, the economies of scale just aren't there.

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

R.I.P. Stephen . Fantastic achievement . Sadly , many people will have made a one-off donation , either on hearing of his illness, or now of his death. Life goes on , and tomorrow there will still be many deserving charities with not enough donors. Not interested in whether anyone has donated or not , let your heart decide what you keep and what you give to others.

 

[grober]

Perhaps relevant to reflect that Stephen was raising funds specifically for the Teenage Cancer Trust whose aims are as follows:-

Rapid access to cancer services offering accurate diagnosis and competent assessment
Clear and accurate information
Evidence based treatment with access to clinical trials
The best chance of survival with the least possible physical cost
A high standard of age specific facilities
Access to staff that understand them and their needs
Peer support
Psychological, social, educational, and employment support
The best treatment as close to home as possible
Teenage Cancer Trust aims to provide teenagers and young adults these essential services. Specialist services ? Teenage Cancer Trust

Perhaps illustrates that cancer can be fought on many fronts. Even the latest cutting edge treatment is useless if the condition is diagnosed too late and Britain has one of the poorest records in Europe! Britain's Cancer Survival Rates 'Unacceptable' Sadly even if treatment is timely many of the " billion dollar " drugs still simply extend life expectancy rather than offer a cure. Faced with the inevitable there is still much that can be done to maintain and support patients during their last days. This isn't cutting edge medical research, its providing the best palliative care available, preventing social isolation and offering psychological support. Sometimes we forget its the simple things that can make a difference .

 

[Palfrem]

Brave lad.

A very short life but, well done in adversity Stephen!

Thumbs up.

 

[AMGeed]

What sad news!. An inspirational and courageous young man gone too soon.
RIP Stephen.

 

[markmifsud]

I have been following his story on twitter for a while now. Was just a few days ago that he was still posting but starting to feel a bit unwell. He has done so much for his charity, such an inspiration to all of us