Golf day raises funds in wife’s memory

16 November 2022

A bereaved husband is fundraising in memory of his wife who died from the rare disease amyloidosis to help raise awareness of the condition.

Dave’s wife Lisa, a self-employed beauty therapist, first fell ill in 2019 and she experienced numerous hospital admissions. Despite many tests and biopsies, doctors had been unable to find the reason for her symptoms.

Following an emergency colostomy in 2020, Lisa was diagnosed with smouldering myeloma. Her health continued to deteriorate, and she was finally diagnosed with amyloidosis in the summer of 2021. Sadly, her condition was quite advanced by the time she received a diagnosis and she died before she could be seen by specialists at the National Amyloidosis Centre at the Royal Free Hospital.

Now Dave is determined to help other families get the care they need before it’s too late. He wants to raise awareness of the condition in the hope that people with amyloidosis can get diagnosed and treated faster.

Dave explained: “I’d not heard of amyloidosis before Lisa got ill. I know now that if you can catch it early enough, before it affects the organs, then lots of cases respond well to treatment. You won’t be cured, but it buys time. Sadly, Lisa didn’t have that treatment because her diagnosis came so late.”

With the support of his local cricket club, Dave organised a fundraising golf day. “Cuckney Cricket Club have been helping to raise awareness of both the Royal Free Charity and Myeloma UK,” said Dave. “The golf day was a real success. We had 24 teams and raised £9,000 pounds. Our friends organised a jumble sale and that raised about a grand as well.”

Amyloidosis is a rare, often fatal disease, caused by accumulation of protein fibres, amyloid, in the body. The National Amyloidosis Centre is based at the Royal Free Hospital. Supported by the Royal Free Charity, it is the only specialist centre in the UK for amyloidosis treatment and research.