Former cancer patient's £250, 000 thank you to Sheffield's Weston Park Hospital

Patient turned Weston Park Cancer Charity patron John Price has hosted an annual fundraising golf day to boost hospital funds after he received treatment for kidney cancer in 1998.

The grandfather and his wife Anne recently held their seventh and final golf day at Hallamshire Golf Club, near their Sandygate home, and they broke through the £250, 000 mark. This combined total has more than doubled their original fundraising target of £100, 000.

With a mix of themes, including James Bond and Blues Brothers, the event has grown in popularity over the years and has seen appearances from MP Nick Clegg, golfing ace Matt Fitzpatrick, cricket star Joe Root and BBC presenter Dan Walker.

John said: “We never imagined back in 2009 that holding a golf day each year would raise such an unbelievable amount for Weston Park Cancer Charity. The support from our friends, family and local businesses has been incredible and without this we could never have achieved such a brilliant total. When I received treatment for my cancer all those years ago, I was told that my options were limited, but offered the chance to go on a ground-breaking new trial. I always said I would raise money to cover the cost of the trial which was £100,000, and almost 20 years later, we’ve raised over double that.”

This year’s event, sponsored by Special Steel Group, saw a total of 58 teams make their way around the scenic course wearing emblazoned polo shirts in support of the charity.

John added: “We’ve managed to raise more year on year and end on such a high, raising our biggest amount of £46, 086 on the final year.”

Samantha Kennedy, charity director, said: “John and Anne’s fundraising has helped increase awareness of the charity’s work and raised funds which will ultimately enable cancer patients to continue benefitting from the latest treatments.”