More than £14,000 raised for Northampton father with inoperable bowel cancer who says he is ‘not ready to die yet’

More than £14,000 has been raised for a Northampton father with inoperable bowel cancer, who says he is “not ready to die yet”.

An online fundraising page was set up for 45-year-old Glenn Utteridge, in aid of cancer treatment to help save or prolong his life.

He shared the series of unfortunate events that happened at the start of 2023, leaving him knocked unconscious, suffering six fractures, undergoing major surgeries and discovering advanced cancer.

At the start of the year, until February 6, Glenn would have described himself as a “fit and active dad, enjoying life with his wife and looking after their seven and 10-year-old children”.

While out on a cycle, Glenn was hit by a coach in a serious road accident. Being thrown off his bike knocked him unconscious and left him with fractures in his back and neck.

While in hospital, scans revealed stage four colon cancer that had spread to his liver and he was readmitted four weeks later for an emergency operation to remove the original tumour and fix a blockage.

In the two-to-three months to follow, Glenn endured severe finger blisters and fainted – which knocked him unconscious and fractured his jaw in three places, which required further emergency surgery.

“Those first few months were extremely tough,” said Glenn, from Horton. “In the first couple of weeks post jaw surgery, I had limited mobility, my hands were still bandaged from the blisters, I couldn’t talk much, and needed to take food in liquid form through a syringe.

“With the support of my loving family and others, I fought hard to recover quickly from my surgeries to get back onto treatment.”

Despite his recovery from the traumas he faced, the tumours in Glenn’s liver are currently inoperable and he has a rare mutation that is difficult to treat.

Glenn, who was 44 at the time of his diagnosis and is now 45, said: “I am determined to do whatever it takes to see my children through more of their school years and spend a bit more time with my wife, who I married two years ago once Covid restrictions were lifted.”

Cutting edge treatments may help to prolong Glenn’s life, including some “very promising” private drugs and therapies – particularly adoptive cell immunotherapy in Japan. Each round of this treatment typically costs between £20,000 and £30,000.

Since his cancer diagnosis in February 2023, Glenn has spent a lot of time researching treatments and therapies that may enable him to see his children grow up.

“With the type of cancer I have, I will be using cutting edge overseas treatment to hopefully extend my life,” he said.

When the fundraiser was first set up, the first round of treatment had been booked and Glenn and his family were looking for support to pay for further treatment.

Glenn published an update to his fundraising page on October 8, as he was finalising his first trip out to Japan for treatment.

He expressed his nerves and the fact he would miss his family while he was gone.

“Thank you again everyone for your continued support in something that hopefully will get me more time alive,” said Glenn. “I'll try my best also not to become another statistic for what is a devastating illness just yet.”

Anything donated that may not be used on Glenn’s treatment will be donated to Cancer Research UK.

To make a donation of your own, visit Glenn’s online fundraising page here.