James and Adrian
James was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer at the age of seventeen in May 2024. James was treated at both The Christie Hospital and MRI.
His father, Adrian, has written an honest and revealing memoir about every stage of James’ cancer journey. The book is called James Making Meaning in the Face of Cancer. All profits from the book are towards Young Lives vs Cancer, as this charity did a great deal to help James.
www.amazon.co.uk/James-Making-Meaning-Face-Cancer/dp/B0H2Q3XT7S
James lived his life to the full; he enjoyed walks in the countryside with his family and developed a great passion for music. There were also moments of real humour – which were shared both with his family and his care team.
Adrian’s family would like to pay tribute to The Christie and the team at Manchester Royal infirmary, who supported James with great kindness. James quickly lost a great deal of power and muscle mass, but The Christie’s physiotherapist Tom Reading managed to slowly re-build James’ strength and mobility.
James subsequently walked every evening in a local beauty spot, hidden in behind a main road near the heart of Levenshulme.
Adrian hopes parents whose children have been given a cancer diagnosis will be able to relate to the small triumphs and moments of shared hope that James experienced.
Adrian hopes that James’s legacy will be that – even in the most difficult of times, it’s possible to find meaning through family, nature and shared connections.
