"We need to give people a voice and bring them with us into the future of cancer research." – Darren’s experience

Darren Pattie from Poppleton is one of the first people to join the new Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement community at Yorkshire Cancer Research. By sharing his experience of cancer, he’s helping to shape the charity’s work and ensure it reflects the needs of people across the region.  

Motivated by equality and fairness, Darren is determined to do what he can to help people in Yorkshire live longer, healthier, cancer-free lives – no matter who they are or where they live.

His personal understanding of cancer treatment and the healthcare system makes him an important voice in helping the charity shine a light on the issues affecting people with cancer across Yorkshire.

Darren was born in Northumberland and grew up near Newcastle. He later moved with his family to Venezuela.

He said: “My accent is a bit all over the place, just like I have been! I travelled in Europe and North Africa for a while, then joined the Royal Air Force, and later lived in London working for American technology companies. My wife Sarah and I settled in Yorkshire 30 years ago, and now we can’t imagine living anywhere else.” 

Four years ago, during an ordinary Christmas, Darren noticed a growth on the top of his tongue.  

“The bump was about half the size of a walnut, and it felt like I’d been bitten or had eaten something particularly spicy. I was super healthy at the time; I went to the gym regularly, trained in boxing and was very physically fit. I had no other symptoms either, so it came out of nowhere.”

Darren’s initial biopsy indicated that there wasn’t any cancer, but his consultant was not convinced. 

T-cell lymphoma is a rare and fast-growing type of blood cancer. Every year, 945 people in Yorkshire are diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma and sadly, 400 people die.

Following nine months of chemotherapy at York Hospital to treat the cancer, Darren was due to receive a stem cell transplant using his own cells. The procedure required him to be cancer-free; however, a last-minute scan revealed his cancer had returned.

Darren was transferred to St James’s University Hospital in Leeds for a more specialised type of chemotherapy and placed on a waiting list for a donor. Thankfully, he was matched with a donor and the transplant was successful.

He said: “If the healthcare professionals looking after me weren’t so attentive, my situation could have changed dramatically at any point. I very much see myself as being on the lucky side of that equation. The right diagnosis, the right treatment and the right care all came together.”

Although he’s now on the other side of treatment, Darren is aware of how life could have gone in another direction.  

Wanting to give back, Darren signed up to the Yorkshire Cancer Research Patient and Public Involvement Community. Through review panels, workshops and focus groups, he plays a crucial role in helping ensure the charity funds research that will make the biggest difference to people in Yorkshire.

This summer, Darren added his voice to the charity’s White Rose Campaign, calling for the Government to address long-standing cancer inequalities in Yorkshire in its upcoming National Cancer Plan.

Darren said: “Through speaking to other people and reading the charity’s recommendations for urgent policy change, I learnt about serious imbalances in cancer treatment and care in our region.    

In its White Rose policy report, Yorkshire Cancer Research shines a light on the need to address inequalities in cancer treatment. For example, the report spotlights the limited accessibility of radiotherapy centres in Yorkshire, with only three serving the whole region. As a result, many people have to travel over an hour for treatment.  

Darren is particularly passionate about addressing this issue following his wife Sarah’s own cancer experience.  

Sarah has lived with cancer for 10 years and has had to travel 83 miles to Manchester for treatment that isn’t available in Yorkshire.  

Darren said: “As a family, we’ve seen the postcode lottery of cancer treatment. Manchester is a long way for Sarah to travel to for her vital care and we’re fortunate to be able to afford transport and be flexible with our daily lives.  

Darren’s niece Annabelle, now 17, was also diagnosed with blood cancer as a child.

He said: “Annabelle lives in the North East so she was treated in Newcastle, which is recognised as a centre of excellence, for childhood cancers. There’s the randomness of it again – if she had been living in Hull or Bradford, would she have had the same opportunity?”    

For Darren, these experiences reinforce the need for fairer access to life-saving cancer treatment and care across Yorkshire.