James Stewart, Christie pledger and supporter

When James Stewart was treated at The Christie for prostate cancer, he decided to include a gift in his Will to The Christie Charity to say thank you to the hospital.

Here, James’s daughter, Donna, remembers her dad and how his treatment at The Christie helped the end of his life be as positive as possible.

Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013. He came to The Christie for radiotherapy from Monday to Friday for a whole month. He was too unwell to drive himself, so he was supported with his transport to The Christie. Mum was unwell too, so I would stay with her whilst he went for his treatment.

It might sound strange, but every time Dad came home from The Christie he was always in a really good mood. He felt comfortable at The Christie, happy to be there, the staff were able to make it a positive experience. The Christie staff were wonderful.

He wasn’t a big discusser of things, so I hadn’t realised he had included The Christie Charity in his Will until after he had died. I’m so pleased he did. It is such a worthy cause.

The gift in his Will is a recognition of the experience he had at The Christie. After his treatment, he lived to be 86, so we had 11 more years together than we first expected. He spent this time together with his family and wife, Joan. He was a devoted husband.

Mum and Dad would spend a lot of time in the garden together, growing vegetables to feed the family. Nothing tastes better than the veg grown in their garden. They spent time travelling together too, with Greece being one of their favourite places to visit.

Dad worked at an engineering firm. He was a plant manager, working all around the world. He played the trombone when he was younger too.

From my experience as my dad’s executor, they main thing I’ve learnt is the importance of telling people what you want. Share your wishes, talk, write them down. Thankfully Dad made a Will, but we didn’t know what his funeral wishes were, and I kept thinking ‘A bit more instruction would have been nice, Dad’. But Dad was always a private man, and it can be difficult to talk about your Will and your funeral wishes, I think – especially for the generation before, even more so for men. People shy away from the inevitable, but it is so important to think and talk about it.

By including a gift in your Will to The Christie Charity, you can help future generations of people across the UK have the treatments that give them the best outcomes and the best quality of life.

If you would like to pass on hope to people with cancer, find out more about including a gift towards the next generation of cancer treatments in your Will on our gifts in Wills pages.