A Mansfield family’s fundraising in memory of their 11-year-old son and brother has helped fund two new research projects into childhood acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
Joel McKevitt-Wilson died after complications from his blood cancer treatment in September 2024, less than a year after being diagnosed with AML. Joel, aged 10, saw the GP multiple times with a rash and loss of appetite before his diagnosis in December 2023. He then quickly started treatment, which involved significant hospital stays and gruelling treatments and procedures.
His mum, Laura Stuart-Wilson, said: “As a parent it is a living nightmare to watch your precious beautiful child be so ill, knowing that you had given consent for this to happen because it is the only available treatment pathway.
“Joel endured it all with a smile on his face and always remained positive, but no child should suffer through the harsh and brutal side effects that cancer treatment causes.”
Joel was rarely allowed home in the last nine months of his life, to prevent him catching life-threatening infections while the chemotherapy was supressing his immune system. He missed his dogs and his family – especially his brothers.
His big brother Ethan said: “Joel was the funniest, kindest, bravest and most loving person I will ever know. He could light up any room and, even during his time in hospital, it would make my day or week seeing him doing his best to stay his happy self.”
After Joel died, his family were determined to do something that reflected his enthusiastic, happy nature and could make a difference for children diagnosed with AML in the future. Laura set up a Special Named Fund at CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association, called Thumbs Up for Joel, which is raising money to support research into AML.
“This is something Joel would have wanted,” said Laura. “Not only was he kind and caring, he was so enthusiastic about life and when he found something he was passionate about then he was all in. We want to keep that passion and light going in his name.”
Less than a year after setting up the fund, Thumbs Up for Joel has been able to join other CCLG Special Named Funds in supporting two new leukaemia research projects.
The funding is part of a collaborative effort, worth £600,000, between CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association and Blood Cancer UK, with the projects being led by Dr Samanta Mariani at the University of Edinburgh and Dr Karen Keeshan at the University of Glasgow.
Dr Mariani’s project aims to understand more about how the immune system interacts with leukaemia in babies. She hopes that this will enable the development of more targeted and effective treatments. Dr Keeshan’s project also focuses on new and kinder treatments, looking at whether blocking a protein linked to aggressive leukaemias could help fight hard-to-treat forms of the cancer.
Laura said: “Learning that Joel’s fund has helped to make these projects happen so soon after setting it up is a massive boost for us. I feel that Joel would have been so incredibly proud that his journey had helped to make this happen.”
Ethan, whose Explorer Scout group has raised over £2000 for Thumbs Up for Joel, said: “The idea that the funds we have raised are already being put towards research is incredible. Even if this project helps just one person, then that is progress.”
Ashley Ball-Gamble, Chief Executive of CCLG, said: “We are delighted to bring the fantastic fundraising efforts of our Special Named Fund families into this collaboration with Blood Cancer UK. By working together, we can accelerate funding for the most promising childhood cancer research and move faster toward breakthroughs for these young patients.”
Dr Richard Francis, Deputy Director of Research at Blood Cancer UK, added: “Thanks to decades of research, survival from the most common form of childhood leukaemia has been transformed – from just one in 10 children surviving in the 1960s to around nine in 10 today. But for babies and children with aggressive forms of the disease, those gains have not been shared equally.
“Every child deserves the best possible chance of survival, and that’s why funding innovative research like this in Scotland is so vital. It’s only possible because of the determination of families and supporters who refuse to accept that current treatments are good enough.”
To support Thumbs up for Joel, visit specialnamedfunds.cclg.org.uk/thumbs-up-for-joel
Find out more about CCLG: The Children & Young People's Cancer Association here.
If you would like further information, please contact our team at media@cclg.org.uk.
