Stephen Sutton

Stephen Robert Sutton (16 December 1994 – 14 May 2014), was an English blogger and charity activist known for his blog Stephen's Story and his fundraising efforts for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity for the aid of teenagers with cancer. By the second anniversary of his death, £5.5 million had been raised in his memory.

Sutton performed well at school, but withdrew his applications to university in 2012 after his terminal prognosis for colorectal cancer. His father had fought the disease twice, and both were predisposed to it through Lynch syndrome. Sutton had struggled to get a diagnosis, as doctors did not believe that colorectal cancer could occur in someone so young. He made a "bucket list" of things to do in his final months and achieved many of them, such as becoming a Guinness World Records holder. He began fundraising for the Teenage Cancer Trust, receiving support from celebrities and politicians. In 2013, he met filmmaker Grigorij Richters, who recorded him for a documentary.

Sutton died on 14 May 2014 at the age of 19. A memorial service to him at Lichfield Cathedral was attended by over 10,000 mourners. After his death, he was posthumously recognised for his activism with awards, including being made an MBE and receiving an honorary doctorate from Coventry University.

Early life Stephen Robert Sutton was born on 16 December 1994 in Burntwood, where he attended Highfields Primary School and Chase Terrace Technology College. He was a very active child, participating in sports and athletics, particularly long-distance running and football. Sutton received top marks from Chase Terrace Technology College in August 2012, and had interviews at Cambridge University to study medicine, as well as universities in Leicester and Leeds. He later withdrew his applications before getting a verdict when his colorectal cancer was determined to be incurable.

Like his father Andy, Sutton had Lynch syndrome, a genetic predisposition to colorectal cancer. His father had surgery to remove part of his intestine after a cancer diagnosis in 1989. 20 years later, he had another tumour removed and a second course of chemotherapy, receiving the all-clear only months before his son was first diagnosed. Doctors initially diagnosed him with constipation and prescribed laxatives, despite his father's insistence that there was a risk of colorectal cancer in the family; he was repeatedly told that teenagers were too young to have the illness. In his final interview, Sutton confessed that he had a degree of "anger" towards the amount of time taken for his cancer diagnosis, but would not lament it. Manford donated £10,000 and gave all the turnover from his own comedy clubs for the entire month of May to the charity. Following Sutton's hospitalisation in April 2014, Manford became the unofficial spokesperson for the charity, appearing in interviews promoting the cause. He also launched the campaign "#thumbsupforStephen", asking people to share selfies of themselves promoting the campaign.

In September 2014, £2.9 million of the £4.96 million raised was invested in specialist cancer units for young people at seven British hospitals. A further £1.2 million was put towards 50 care scholarships at Coventry University, and £700,000 invested in improving cancer awareness information and helping patients attend the charity's annual weekend conference. On 14 May 2016, the second anniversary of Sutton's death, £5.5 million had been raised. His mother, an official ambassador for the trust, also ran a marathon and in 2016 announced plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in her son's memory.

The opening ceremony, titled "The Battle of Kings", was directed by Spacey's executive assistant and Prince's Trust ambassador Hamish Jenkinson and his business partner Jonny Grant, who had previously directed the opening ceremony at the same venue for the 2011 final. It was produced by Films United, and directed and produced by Richters and his producing partner Alex Souabni. Both were the former filmmakers-in-residence of Spacey and Jenkinson at The Old Vic Theatre in London. The film focused on the story of Sutton, who was part of the group of performers.

Ceremonies manager Julien Pateau spoke about Sutton after his death:

Death and reaction

Following a lung collapse on 22 April 2014, Sutton was put on life-support but in a stable condition. He died of colorectal cancer in his sleep at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham during the early hours of 14 May 2014, at the age of 19. His death was announced on his Facebook page by his mother. His elder brother Chris wrote on Twitter:

By the time of his death, he had raised over £3.2 million for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

On 21 May, Lichfield Cathedral announced that they would hold a public vigil for Sutton on 29 May, before a private family funeral the following day. In accordance with Sutton's wishes, those in attendance were told to wear bright colours and have fun; yellow, the colour of the summer, was advised. He was buried the next day. "for services to Teenage Cancer Trust Charity"; the award was dated 14 May. His mother, Jane, said that "though Stephen continually told all of us that he didn't do charity work for recognition, even he acknowledged that to be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire was awesome".

On 7 October 2014, Sutton was recognised at the Pride of Britain Awards with the award for "Special Recognition". It was presented to his family by Jason Manford and Roger Daltrey.

On 11 November 2014 Coventry University announced that it would posthumously award Sutton with an Honorary Doctorate of Science, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to highlighting the unique needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer. His mother collected it on his behalf later that month.

Burntwood's Christmas tree for 2014 was dedicated to Sutton, and decorated with yellow ribbons. In September 2015, Virgin Trains renamed Pendolino 390 002 in his honour. In June 2014, an elephant at the West Midland Safari Park was named Sutton by public vote; he had previously met the animal's mother as part of a wish to hug an animal larger than himself.

Music The Neon Brotherhood recorded a single titled "Hope Ain't a Bad Thing" as a fundraiser for Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of Sutton. Jane Sutton announced the release of the single on 2 June and within 24 hours the song reached No. 2 on UK iTunes Charts. It peaked in the Official UK charts at No. 16.

After working with Sutton, local community organisation Gig Caritas announced that they would hold a concert in memory of him in Dudley, featuring West End stars Kieran Brown, Sabrina Aloueche and Katie Bernstein accompanied by a professional orchestra and choir made up of members from In Sound Company and Brierley Hill Musical Theatre Company.

In 2014, the Download Festival paid tribute to Sutton, temporarily naming their main stage after him. He attended the festival in 2013 as part of his "bucket list".