My name’s Stephen I’m pretty much an average 18 year old teenager - except for the last three years now I’ve been battling cancer. The current opinion voiced by my doctors now is that my cancer is incurable, and as a result I want to spend as much time as possible raising funds for a charity very close to my heart.
More about myself and the fundraising activities I hope to do can be found on this page:
http://www.facebook.com/StephensStory
In the notes section I have wrote a list of things I would like to achieve in the near future. I will be updating the page as much as possible and any support is greatly appreciated! The charity I will be raising funds for is the Teenager Cancer Trust (TCT).
TCT have helped me hugely throughout my journey and has helped shape who I am today. They offer hope and a sense of community to young people who have cancer, and directly help face the associated pragmatic and emotional issues. In my own words here is a brief summary of what TCT does:
· They provide specialist wards and nurses that address specific needs me and other teenagers may have. Hospital can be an awful place, especially when receiving horrible chemotherapy drugs, but the TCT units are amazing and help make everything that bit more bearable.
· TCT also offer educational talks to schools about cancer, which I think is very important considering 1 in 3 of us will get cancer at some point in our lives. When I first had symptoms the thought of cancer had never crossed my mind, and as a result this lead me to putting off seeing my doctors because I didn’t think it would be anything serious. I always wonder that if I knew what symptoms to look out for I could of diagnosed earlier, and perhaps then my prognosis would be different.
· They also fund researchers with the aim of specifically addressing the issues faced within teenage and young adults (TYA) cancers. As I am now currently a patient and public involvement member on the TYA CSG within the NCRI, I have seen a clear underestimated need for research into TYA cancers, and how improvements can lead to better patient outcomes.
· TCT also offer work experience programmes to help teenagers get back into work and contributing to society after their treatments have finished.
· TCT also fund social evenings for teenagers and young adults with cancer. These events help boost morale and the friends you make form an invaluable support network. Joined together by a common experience I have met some of my now best friends at these events.
· Finally, TCT host an annual ‘Find your sense of tumour’ conference, which was the most inspiring thing I have ever been to.
So, please donate generously! :)
United Kingdom blogger and  charity fundraiser  has died today at the age of 19.

Sutton, himself a cancer sufferer, gained media attention in the UK for his fundraising activities for , which have raised more than 3.3 million (5.5 million or 4 million) for the charity. Sutton's original goal was £10,000 (US$16,800 or €12,200) for the charity. His mother said he died in his sleep during the early hours of this morning. 

Sutton's mother broke the news in a post on 'Stephen's story', the Facebook page launched in January 2013 in which Sutton documented events in his life. "My heart is bursting with pride but breaking with pain for my courageous, selfless, inspirational son", she wrote. "The ongoing support and outpouring of love for Stephen will help greatly at this difficult time, in the same way as it helped Stephen throughout his journey. We all know he will never be forgotten, his spirit will live on, in all that he achieved and shared with so many." Previous posts on the Facebook page spoke of Sutton's deteriorating condition. Yesterday a post on the same Facebook page said: "Unfortunately in the last 24 hours Stephen's condition has deteriorated to where he can no longer communicate through this page himself. Unfortunately the breathlessness which had him re-admitted to hospital is due to the regrowth of tumours which are blocking his airways, and not just due to infection as we had all been hoping." However, the update also said he was "comfortable and stable".

Sutton, from the town of  in the  of England, was told he was suffering from a   at the age of 15. On a  page, Sutton explained why he was raising money for his chosen charity. "Teenage Cancer Trust have helped me hugely throughout my own cancer battle and helped shape who I am and my positive attitude today", he said. "They offer hope and a sense of community to young people with cancer like myself, and directly help face associated pragmatic and emotional issues." His fundraising efforts received widespread media attention, part of which was due to a  image of himself he posted on the Facebook page in April, which he then believed would be his last. Sutton's campaign received numerous celebrity endorsements, including from ,  and . Comedian  also arranged comedy gigs to assist with Sutton's campaign.

On Twitter today, the Teenage Cancer Trust said: "We are humbled and hugely grateful for what Stephen achieved and continues to achieve for us." British  tweeted: "His spirit, bravery and fundraising for cancer research were all an inspiration." Meanwhile,  Ed Miliband said on the social networking site: "His bravery & determination to live life to the full was an inspiration to us all." Jason Manford paid his own tribute to Sutton. "Stephen Sutton was the most inspiring person I've ever met and touched more lives than he will ever know", he said. "He was an incredibly positive young man and a credit to his family, to Burntwood and to humanity itself. The reason we took to him so passionately was because he was better than us, he did something that none of us could even imagine doing. In his darkest hour he selflessly dedicated his final moments to raising millions of pounds for teenagers with cancer. Some of Stephen's words will stay with me and others forever and they are words to live by — 'life isn't measured in time, it's measured in achievements'."


== Sources == 
*
*
*
*
*
*
*