Moray son's cancer story
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FAMILY can be complicated, as Louis Clark is all too aware now.
The 26-year-old from Elgin has always been very close to his mum, even more so after his dad left them when he was a toddler.
Growing up, his relationship with his dad was difficult and they only had sporadic contact – which dwindled further when Louis moved away with his mum and step-dad at the age of 9.
By the time Louis moved to Elgin at the age of 21, he and his dad hadn’t spoken in a decade.
Then one day, he came home to find he had received a letter:
Louis recalled: "My mum knew straight away that the letter was from my dad. Even after all that time, she still remembered his handwriting.
"I threw it straight in the bin, unopened. I remember that my mum tried to encourage me to see what he had to say, but I wasn’t interested. As far as I was concerned, he’d had his chance to speak to me.
"A few weeks later, another letter arrived – with the same handwriting. This time mum fished it out of the bin and tried to give it back to me, but I ripped it up and threw it away again, in the dustbin outside."
A fortnight later, Louis got a call at the shop where he worked.
It was his mum, saying that there was something she had to tell him, and that he should go home immediately.
Concerned about why she was calling, and unable to simply leave without a reason, Louis asked what was going on.
That was when he found out that his dad had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and that he had just passed away.
Louis said: "When I got home, my mum was devastated – she was crying for me, for what I had lost. But I couldn’t cry.
"I remember going to my room and turning on my computer to start playing a game and then just sitting, staring at the screen.
"I think that was when it hit me – that he was gone. There were so many things now that I’d never get to say to him, and that he’d never get to say me.
"Some of those things might have been written down in the letters he sent – but of course, I’ll never know.
"I wasn’t sure if I would attend the funeral – I wasn’t even sure if I had the right to be as upset as I was. But I decided last minute to go, and to be one of the pall-bearers.
"As I walked in, with Creed’s ‘One Last Breath’ playing quietly in the background, I spotted my mum – and I did get quite emotional.
"He might not have been a father to me – but he was still my dad
"I don’t want anyone else to go through the same thing as me – one of my biggest regrets is that I’ll never know what would have happened if I’d opened one of those letters.
"I’ve learnt to live with it, but it’s difficult to think about how things could have been different.
"That’s why I’m so passionate about fundraising for Worldwide Cancer Research – I want the opportunity to talk to people and let them know that investing in the future really will have an impact.
"I’m not a scientist – I’m not going to be directly involved in the important research going on – but speaking to people on the street about it makes me feel like I’m doing my part.
"I just want to go out and try my hardest to inspire as many people as possible to support us."
THIS year marks 40 years since Worldwide Cancer Research was founded
But it will also mark five years since Louis lost his dad to lung cancer.
Twice as many people now survive cancer compared to when we started out, but one in two people in the UK will now be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.
Recently Worldwide Cancer Research committed £4million of funding to 20 new projects, but the charity believes there were a further 80 good research idea for which it simply lacked the funding.
Instead of celebrating its birthday the small Scotland-based charity had set itself a goal, to find 5,000 new supporters across the UK this year.
Donate to Worldwide Cancer by calling 0300 777 7910 or by clicking here
