Golf Captain Raises £25,000 in Honor of Brother's Cancer Battle

Gary Cross, this year’s captain at the Oxfordshire Golf Club, has a really special reason for nominating  Oxford Hospitals Charity for support. 

He wants to say thank you to the Churchill Hospital for saving the life of his brother, Lee.

Back in 2017, Lee started to feel unwell while on holiday in Spain.

As soon as he was home, the 64 year old from Loudwater in High Wycombe, went straight to A&E. 

Lee was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, a type of skin cancer – it was a huge shock to the family, especially as there were no visible signs of the cancer on his skin.

A few weeks later Lee's condition deteriorated, and he was rushed by ambulance to Stoke Mandeville Hospital. He now had kidney failure caused by melanoma cells, and required urgent dialysis. Doctors gave Lee just a few days to live. It was a terrifying time for all the family.

“He was transferred to the Churchill Hospital, and his care was taken over by Miranda Payne and her team at the Churchill. They immediately started him on oral treatment, and thankfully he responded positively. Lee stayed on the oncology ward at the Churchill Hospital for several more weeks before being well enough to return home.”

Gary will never forget how relieved he was to see his brother on the mend.

Sadly, some months later the tablet treatment began to lose effectiveness, and Lee was switched to monthly immunotherapy treatments at the Churchill's Day Treatment Unit. He also had two operations to remove tumours one on his head in August 2018 at John Radcliffe Hospital and another on his arm in October 2019 at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. 

In December 2020, Lee transitioned to oral immunotherapy, which he continues to take to this day. 

His brother Gary has been keen to show his thanks to the Churchill Hospital, which played such a crucial role in saving his brother's life.

So when he became captain of Oxfordshire Golf Club, and was able to nominate a charity for the club to support through golf days and raffles, the decision was easy.

“Gary told us: “Lee is a walking miracle. As a family, we can’t thank the staff at the Churchill enough, and that is why I want to raise money for Oxford Hospitals Charity.”

“So far we have held a captain’s day event and this summer we hosted a members' charity day, which Lee also managed to take part in. 

“I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along and contributed to our fundraising and took part in these events.”

Gary is anticipating him and his fellow golfers will have raised an impressive £25,000 to generously contribute to support the oncology department at the Churchill Hospital.

We’d like to share our thanks with Gary and the club for their kind support and wish them the very best for their year of fundraising. 

What a testimony to brotherly love!