Every stride that a Watford man takes in the London Marathon next week will be in memory of his brother who died from cancer.
Darren McCall, 34, is taking part in the 26-mile race in tribute to Spencer, a footballer who played for clubs including Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead Town.
Pain in Spencer’s leg was at first wrongly assumed to be a stress fracture caused by playing football. Shockingly, in February 2019, this was diagnosed as Ewing sarcoma. It is the second most common form of bone cancer in teenagers and young adults.
Spencer underwent 14 cycles of chemotherapy and surgery that saw a 17cm section of his tibia removed.
Sadly, in February 2020, a routine scan showed the cancer had spread to his lungs and there were multiple tumours. More chemotherapy was unable to stabilise the disease. It was then that Spencer, from Watford, sought out innovative treatments.
An amazing response to his plight from friends, family and the football community enabled him to raise the funds to travel to Germany, Spain, Latvia and Mexico to receive treatments. However, Spencer sadly died in July 2021 at the age of 26.
Darren, who is a lighting technician, is now running the marathon on 27 April for charity Sarcoma UK. One of Spencer’s friends, Leyton Orient footballer Dom Ball, wrote a book called From Winning Teams to Broken Dreams with proceeds going to Sarcoma UK.
Darren said: ‘Spencer’s courage and strength throughout his battle left an everlasting mark on all who knew him. I want to honour Spencer’s life, his strength, and the love he brought to everyone who knew him by completing this challenge.
‘This cause is deeply personal to my family and me, and I want to do everything I can to support the incredible work Sarcoma UK do for individuals and families affected by this disease.’
Dr Sorrel Bickley, Sarcoma UK’s Director of Research, Policy and Support, said: ‘At Sarcoma UK, we’re investing nearly £400,000 across three pioneering research projects to develop better treatments for Ewing sarcoma, the rare and aggressive cancer that took Spencer McCall’s life.
‘One particularly promising study led by Dr Fiona Errington-Mais at the University of Leeds is exploring how “cancer-bursting” oncolytic viruses could be used to directly kill Ewing sarcoma cells or activate the body’s immune system to fight them. We’re also funding innovative work on targeting fusion genes and investigating “cancer supercontroller” molecules that drive this disease.
‘Currently, there are very few effective options available for patients with this disease. We hope that, through research like this, future families won’t have to face the heartbreak that Spencer’s has endured.’
To donate to Darren, go to Darren McCall is fundraising for Sarcoma UK
