Eddie O'Gorman OBE, steps down as charity Chairman

Message from Eddie

This charity has been part of our family and it was with a very heavy heart that I decided to step down as Chairman in January 2022 after 34 years. In November 1987, days after Jean’s death, Marion and I met Diana, Princess of Wales. Deeply moved by our double tragedy having lost our son Paul to leukaemia in 1987, she became personally involved in the charity, and inaugurated it on 12 January 1988 at Mill Hill Secondary School. It was thanks to Princess Diana that Children with Cancer UK (formerly Children with Leukaemia) came to be. The Princess continued to support us, keeping in touch and giving encouragement to our wonderful supporters until her untimely death in 1997. I am so immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together so far. Thanks to the amazing support of people like you, what started as a small memorial charity is now the national leading research charity into childhood cancer. Children with Cancer UK has funded over 300 projects and raised over £290 million and impacted thousands of children’s lives. When Paul was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), he had a 60% chance of survival. Today, a child diagnosed with ALL has a 90% chance of survival. Marion and I dedicated most of our lives to helping children and young people facing cancer and their families. While we have so much more to do, I’m confident that one day every child and young person diagnosed with cancer will ring the end of treatment bell thanks to such incredibly kind and generous supporters like you as part of our family. I also have great faith that our new Chairman, David Gibbs, will help take us further towards that vision. Thank you for joining us on this journey and supporting us over the years in Paul and Jean’s legacy. I am most grateful. I hope you will continue to support us in the future.  

Eddie O’Gorman’s timeline

• Parent
• Founder with Marion
• Chairman since 1988

Recognised by awards:

• In 2004, Eddie was made an Honorary Fellow of University College London in recognition of the charity’s contribution to cancer sciences in the UK
• Eddie was awarded an OBE in 2010 New Year’s Honours List, a much deserved tribute to his compassion, and commitment
• In 2018, Eddie received the Pride of Britain Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a life devoted to fighting childhood cancer

 

Our progress since 1988

• Our original aim was to raise £100,000 we’ve now raised over £290 million
• We are the leading national children’s charity dedicated to the fight against childhood cancer
• We have funded over 300 research projects and 5 research fellowships
• We’ve helped improve childhood cancer survival rates from 67.3% in 1990 to a predicted 85.5% in 2018.*

*Office of National Statistics (ONS) Childhood cancer survival in England: children diagnosed from 1990 to 2014 and followed up to 2015 and Cancer survival in England: adult, stage at diagnosis and childhood – patients followed up to 2018