Northampton husband, aged 37, with terminal cancer admitted to hospice one year after being given three months to live

A well-known Northampton husband with terminal cancer is raising money for an ‘amazing’ hospice in Northampton.

In May 2022, Richard Davies was told he had three months left to live after being diagnosed with stage four colon cancer which had spread 'wildly' through his body.

Fortunately, the 37-year-old from Overstone has gone on to live for another 12 months after that initial prognosis. However he has recently been checked into Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Kettering Road, Northampton on Monday (May 1) for symptom control care.

Richard has since set up an online fundraiser to help support the ‘wonderful’ Cynthia Spencer Hospice.

He said: “Being admitted to a hospice can be a scary prospect but I think the purpose these wonderful facilities serve is so often misunderstood.

“Yes they are here for end of life care but also so much more: pain management, bereavement advice, respite care and much more.

“When I was admitted here on Monday I was naturally daunted. But the staff and facilities here are absolutely amazing.

“Headed up by the superb Dr. David Riley, the Cynthia Spencer Hospice is a wonderful place to feel cared for and looked after.

“Laying in my bed last night and thinking about how great the team here is I decided I wanted to try and give something back. I have a medium size following on social media on my Instagram account @bowelbro, so I decided to put the feelers out as to whether anyone would like to support me in trying to raise funds for the hospice here. The uptake and engagement was amazing so I set up a Just Giving page.

“I have pledged to match, pound for pound, all donations up to and including £5,000. With the £7,000 raised by my friends on social media this means at the time of writing (Thursday) we’ve managed to raise an incredible £12,000 in just 10 hours!

“And I couldn’t think of a better place for these funds to go than the Cynthia Spencer Hospice. It’s going to make such a difference here to staff and patients alike and I couldn’t be prouder of the funds we’ve managed to raise.”

At the time of writing (Thursday), £7,500 has been raised from 536 supporters.

Richard said: “I am absolutely floored by the response to this. Thank you so much to each and everyone of you who has shared or donated. Thank you.”

Click here to donate to the Just Giving page.

The husband has also recently released a book called ‘A Significant Find’, which he wanted to leave for his wife to remember him by.

Speaking to Chron and Echo in January, Richard said: "It just seems to resonate on a human level: I'm facing this struggle but with a cheerful demeanour and a smile on my face and a positive attitude. I think it has helped people to embrace life and be grateful for the life they have.

"The most important thing, and the whole reason for it, was to leave it for my wife Lisa. She's incredibly happy she knows she's going to have something to feel connected to me once I'm gone. The book is just a love letter to Lisa.”

Click here to donate to Richard’s Just Giving page.

Click here to buy Richard’s book.