Fundraiser launched for charity which helped Sheffield dad given six months to live

Gareth Smith, aged 41, and his family’s lives were turned upside down when he spent six weeks in hospital in 2020, after a routine blood test led to a shock blood cancer diagnosis.

Gareth said the Cavendish reached out to him and his family, offering crucial support for his wife and his oldest daughter, who was just four at the time.

He said: “For her, dad was there one morning and the next, I was gone for two months in hospital.”

After three phases of intense chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant from his sister, doctors were finally able to give the Smiths some good news.

Gareth said: “I went into remission in early 2021 and was effectively in remission for 12 months.

“In March of this year, I had a bone marrow test and the leukemia had come back.

“My consultant said I had had the best treatment I could with the chemo and stem cell stuff and they gave me six weeks to live.”

Clinical Trials

This was difficult news for Gareth and his wife, but Cavendish Cancer Care reached out to help them as best they could.

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“The Cavendish offered us children’s therapy and offered my wife counselling,” Gareth said.

Then, some hope, as NHS consultants managed to secure Gareth a place on a clinical trial in London for a new treatment, but he was on significant chemotherapy at this point just to keep him strong.

He said: “I was so immuno-suppressed I had to isolate from my family with my daughters being at school, just so I was fit enough for the trial.”

Now, after being given just six weeks to live in March, Gareth is eight weeks post-trial.

He said: “We are stilling awaiting results to see if it was 100 per cent effective.

"In myself, I am feeling pretty good. I’m just being positive.”

“There is always someone there.”

Now he and best friend, Robert Taylor, are raising money for Cavendish Cancer Care to say thank you for their help.

Rob and Gareth have known one another for 12 years, having both been electricians and working a number of jobs together up and down the country.

Gareth said: “Over the years we’ve become really good mates and when I was diagnosed in 2020, he just rallied round to see if I was alright, to see if my family needed anything.”

Rob will be running a 60-mile ultra-marathon, with Gareth following behind with food and water, as the duo tackle the White Rose ultra-marathon on November 4, 2022.

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Gareth said: “It’ll be a tough challenge for him. Historically, he’s not really a runner.”

In just a matter of days, the JustGiving page has raised £310 of a £500 target, but Gareth said he hopes to raise as much as he can for the charity that has helped his family so much through “some dark times”.

Gareth said he is “incredibly thankful” to those who have donated during this “very tough time”.

If you would also like to donate, you can find the JustGiving link, here.