At the end of April 2019, life as our family knew it came to a stop when my Dad, Chris Griffiths passed away. Dad had been fighting cancer since being diagnosed in August 2018 and was defying the odds, but due to other sudden and unexpected medical complications, his life was cut short.
We were so fortunate to gain extra months with Dad due to the incredible work of the NHS and Cancer Research. Between August 18 and March 2019, Dad received neurosurgery, gamma knife therapy and immunotherapy. His fight was incredible- matched only by the unrelenting care and support given to him (and us) by the wonderful NHS and numerous cancer charities.
This in turn allowed Dad and us to experience many bonus months and events.Christmas, Easter, Graduations to name but a few. We were able to see Dad become 'Grandpa' with the birth of Freddie in January, and will treasure those magical moments between them forever. The world is a worse place for not having Dad in it. His death has left immeasurable void in our lives, and in the lives of everybody that knew him. He really was one of a kind but for all these feelings of sadness, we share an enormous sense of pride, love and happiness that we are lucky enough to call him our Dad.
Which is why as a unit we will walk as a Family in Cardiff, on what would have been the eve of Dad's 60th Birthday. We would have undoubtedly celebrated with laughter, fun and (of course) lots of wine. If you can spare anything to continue the work of Cancer Research UK, it would be so gratefully received. Their past research, alongside the work of the incredible NHS, gave us extra time with Dad in which to make more precious memories. The statistics are terrifying (so I won’t write them here), but there is a reason that it is called the dreaded ‘C’ word. Hopefully one day, the word will only be in history books.
'We're not smiling because he's gone, We're smiling because he was here.'.
Each year Cancer Research UK’s scientists get closer to beating cancer, and they’ve helped double survival rates in the last 40 years. But we can’t stop there.
Only with our continued support can they turn this research into breakthroughs that save millions of lives. Every single pound you donate makes a difference to Cancer Research UK’s groundbreaking work, so please sponsor me now.
