On behalf of all the trustees, it is with the greatest sadness I have to inform you our dear friend and chairman of Topic of Cancer passed away on Thursday. This was sudden and unexpected, and our thoughts are with his wife Hazel, their sons, their family and friends.
Kim was a wonderful, highly intelligent and motivated individual, reflected in his work life on various continents, his love of scuba diving and of course his motorbikes. I first met Kim, as a patient, in 2013. His journey through the diagnosis of his cancer and how he dealt with it is beautifully and sensitively recounted in his book ‘A Meeting with Sharks and Cancer’. Kim’s approach was always to try and understand his cancer and never to linger on the negatives, quickly rationalise the treatment proposed and move on with life as normally as possible. His energy and enthusiasm was remarkable, despite side effects of medication, setting up his first aid training company and later the enormous and sustained contribution to our charity, eventually becoming our chair.
Kim was a true gentleman, a kind and considerate human being, a model patient and friend who will be missed very much.
Hardev Pandha
TOC Trustee and Professor on Medical Oncology, University of Surrey
