Brother to run London Marathon in memory of 'courageous' former Hemel Hempstead Town footballer
A man from Watford is running this month’s London Marathon in memory of his brother who used to turn out for Hemel Hempstead Town FC.
Darren McCall, 34, from Watford, is taking on the daunting 26-mile challenge to pay tribute to Spencer, who also turned out for Stevenage FC.
Spencer died from cancer, he first noticed pain in his leg that was wrongly assumed to be a stress fracture caused by playing football. Shockingly, in February 2019, this was diagnosed as Ewing sarcoma. It is the second most common form of bone cancer in teenagers and young adults.
Spencer underwent 14 cycles of chemotherapy and surgery that saw a 17cm section of his tibia removed.
Sadly, in February 2020, a routine scan showed the cancer had spread to his lungs and there were multiple tumours. More chemotherapy was unable to stabilise the disease. It was then that Spencer, from Watford, sought out innovative treatments.
Sarcoma UK has revealed that through fundraising from friends, family and the football community, Spencer was able to receive treatment in Germany, Spain, Latvia and Mexico. However, Spencer sadly died in July 2021 at the age of 26.
Darren, who is a lighting technician, is now running the marathon on 27 April for charity Sarcoma UK. One of Spencer’s friends, Leyton Orient footballer Dom Ball, wrote a book called From Winning Teams to Broken Dreams with proceeds going to Sarcoma UK.
Darren said: “Spencer's courage and strength throughout his battle left an everlasting mark on all who knew him. I want to honour Spencer's life, his strength, and the love he brought to everyone who knew him by completing this challenge.
“This cause is deeply personal to my family and me, and I want to do everything I can to support the incredible work Sarcoma UK do for individuals and families affected by this disease.”
Dr Sorrel Bickley, Sarcoma UK’s director of research, policy and support, said: "At Sarcoma UK, we're investing nearly £400,000 across three pioneering research projects to develop better treatments for Ewing sarcoma, the rare and aggressive cancer that took Spencer McCall’s life."