Above: American Quarters

When you look through this website, I ask you to realise that that everything here is a personal issue for me. I’m not some hired hand reporting to some semi-corporate ‘board’. There are few of us out there in charity land who ‘own’ everything about what the charity is and what it stands for. And what we do.

That’s why I fight against what I see as wrong, and disagree with so many people in the medical and hospital world who, I so often think, have lost touch with the reality of why we have our roles and who we represent.

My story is personal because it all started with trying to find a treatment for my eldest daughter, Louise. I didn’t know it was going to be PDT that we found and delivered what, for me, was such an incredible result.

My story continued when a young lady pressed four American ‘quarters’ into my hand an asked me never to give up doing what I do. She was dying, and I felt that when she died, I inherited her will to fight, and turned that fight to one that fights for others.

I fear that the energy she gave me is running out. I don’t know how much longer I can keep going. The energy is drained from me by people who not only don’t share my vision for better healthcare and better treatments, but also by those who stand in the way of things progressing. There are those who I see blocking the advancement of PDT, in particular. What troubles me most is some of the managers in the NHS who should simply not be in post. One day I might name some of them. I feel that urge really strongly. There’s Martin, Robert, Peter …

I come from the commercial world where my chairman once said to me: “David, don’t ever tell me that our clients don’t have any problems. They have hundreds. Your job, David, is to find out what they are. Our job is to fix them.” This message is not an appeal for money. I always tell PDT patients not to donate. In every sense, it has been an honour to play a part in getting them fixed. If you want to donate, you will.

In this ramble, I simply wanted to say is that, most of all, I am focused on changing things for the better. If people whose feathers I ruffle ever read this, they need to understand that my battles are not personal. Just about what they say and what they do – or don’t do. My determination all comes from Sarah, the young lady who gave me the four ‘quarters’. She should have been with us today. But she isn’t because not enough people had tried hard enough. My journey over the past 12 years has been hard. Very. I have faced personal issues that nearly broke me. But, when each day dawns, I guess it’s Sarah who is there with her whip and cajoaling thoughts.

If I don’t make a difference today, it was a day I wasted.

Email me at: david.longman@KillingCancer.co.uk