A DUNDEE father who lost his wife to a rare genetic cancer – from which his children are now at risk – is starring in a new UK-wide TV awareness campaign.
In “I pledge” Jo Williamson, from Auchterhouse, highlights Cancer Research UK’s commitment to life-saving research made possible by people leaving donations in their wills.
The 67-year-old retired wine buyer also features in newspaper and bus stop ads, as well as posters throughout the UK.
Father-of-four Jo’s wife Sue died two days before Christmas in 2003 after a ten-year battle with the rare cancer known as pheyochromocytoma, which can be caused by a faulty gene.
Doctors said there was a 50/50 chance that Jo’s children would also carry the faulty SDH-B gene.
His eldest children do not carry the faulty gene, but twins Jennie Chinembiri and James Williamson, both 38, have inherited it.
“My wife Sue was a great family person and our children were absolutely the most important part of her life,” he said.
“We were married for 28 years and there are so many special things we all miss about her. I’m fortunate now to have seven grandchildren and I know how much Sue would have loved them too.”
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