Norman Hunter’s family fundraiser drives ‘vital research’

The family of a Leeds United legend have raised more than £110,000 to fund ‘groundbreaking’ cancer research.

Norman Hunter died of Covid in April 2020 after a seven-year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Money raised in his memory enabled a 62-year-old grandmother, Cathy, also diagnosed with CLL, to participate in a clinical trial.

She feared she’d never get to meet her future grandchildren – but six years on, she’s a grandmother to two.

“When the doctors told me I had cancer, my first thought was, ‘Am I going to die?’ and then, “will I ever get to meet my future grandchildren?” I was terrified,” Cathy said.

“But here I am, six years later, making special memories with my two grandchildren – all thanks to the incredible treatment I had at Leeds Cancer Centre.”

The 62-year-old said she dreaded the thought of chemotherapy and “possible tiring side effects”.

“Thanks to this, my life has remained as normal as possible.

“I’ve been able to continue doing the things I love, like playing in my orchestra and spending time with my grandchildren,” she said.

“I feel incredibly lucky that this trial gives me many more years to live my life to the fullest.”

A lecturer at the University of Leeds explained how fundraising by Mr Hunter’s family helped his team identify more personalized treatments.

Dr Darren Newton, Lecturer in Hematology and Immunology, said: “The money raised by the Hunter family has enabled us to support research into more personalized treatments for patients like Cathy.

“We have seen extremely promising results from these studies led by Dr. Tahla Munir at St. James Hospital.”

More than 1,500 patients from more than 100 centers in the UK took part in the FLAIR trial, with 90% of patients treated with targeted combination therapies completely negative for CLL in their blood.

The Hunter family recently visited Leeds Cancer Center to hear from researchers and clinicians working on the trials, as well as patients like Cathy.

Mr Hunter’s wife Sue said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic, so see how much progress has been made with this vital research since we last met with Darren and the team.

“To hear firsthand how our fundraising is making an ongoing impact makes all our efforts worthwhile.”

Since the first annual golf day in 2021, the family have raised an impressive £112,368 and are hosting their fourth event in June.

“All of this is only possible because of everyone who came together to support the golf day,” said Mrs Hunter.

“We never imagined the event would raise so much money and we know Norman would be beaming with pride.”