Dwayne Barlow ‘Stand up to Cancer’ tattoo tribute to his dad

Dwayne Barlow and Stacy Jefferson raised £370 in sponsorship and to encourage others to speak out about cancer

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Dwayne Barlow and his fiancée, Stacy Jefferson, have paid a lasting tribute to his late father, who died from cancer, by getting a tattoo of the Stand Up To Cancer charity logo on their wrists.

Dwayne, 25, and Stacy, 24, have so far raised £370 in sponsorship after getting the “SU2C” inking and also hope it will be a talking point to encourage others to speak out about cancer.

Stand up To Cancer is a charity fundraising campaign by Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, which culminates on Friday 21 October with a night of live TV on Channel 4 led by the brightest stars in film, TV and music.

Dad-of-three Dwayne, who grew up in Rochdale, before moving to Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, where he works as a carer, was left devastated by his father Roy Barlow’s death in 2014. Roy, who had lived in Rochdale all his life, was just 49.

Roy, who had worked at Ciborio Ltd and Turner Brothers Asbestos (TBA), died in 2014 from throat, pancreatic and lung cancer but had kept his cancer diagnosis quiet so his death came as a complete shock to his son who was devastated that he didn’t get chance to say goodbye to his dad.

His dad never got the chance to meet Dwayne’s daughter, Cara, who was born two months before his death.

Dwayne, who grew up on Kirkholt, Rochdale and attended Spring Hill High School, and Stacy got the inkings done at the Sweet'Art Studio in Barrow.

The couple say the tattoos will remind them of Roy and hope they will inspire other cancer sufferers to tell family members about their illnesses.

Dwayne said: “My dad had kept his cancer hidden from all the family. He was taken into hospital with what we thought was bronchitis on the Monday and on the Tuesday we found out he had terminal cancer – but he’d kept it a secret.

“He died on the Thursday and I didn’t have time to get to Manchester and say goodbye. It happened so quickly and it took me a while to get my head around it.

“Dad knew he was dying but didn’t want to say anything.

“I decided to get a tattoo to remind me of him and to hopefully raise funds for Stand Up To Cancer as well as raise awareness of cancer and it was great that Stacy did it too.

"We got the tattoos on our wrists so that it’s a talking point and encourage people to be open about cancer.”

“If one person with cancer can talk to their family and get that support by hearing our story then that will be enough for me. I don’t want people to feel like they are doing it on their own like my Dad did.”

A joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, Stand Up To Cancer aims to raise money to fund translational research, which takes developments in the lab and transforms them into brand new tests and treatments for cancer patients. It culminates with a live television show on Friday 21 October.

Every day, 110 people are diagnosed with cancer in the North West. By joining Stand Up To Cancer, supporters will be uniting with doctors, nurses, scientists and celebrities to generate funds, raise awareness and help accelerate progress in life-saving cancer research.

Alison Barbuti, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for Greater Manchester, said: “We’d like to thank Dwayne and Stacy for their innovative fundraising and helping to spread the word about Stand Up To Cancer.

“Stand Up To Cancer aims to accelerate the translation of brilliant scientific discoveries into innovative cancer medicine, tests and treatments. Every pound raised will help to support this progress and bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.”

Launched in the UK in 2012, Stand Up To Cancer has already raised more than £25million.
Alison continued: “One in two people in the UK will develop cancer at some point in their lives and there’s still much more to do to ensure no-one’s life is cut short by this devastating disease.

“Stand Up To Cancer raises money to speed up breakthroughs from the lab to the patients who need them right now.”

Stand Up To Cancer is supported by a host of celebrities including Davina McCall and Alan Carr. This year’s campaign culminates on Friday 21 October with a night of live TV on Channel 4.

To sponsor Dwayne and Stacy visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Dwayne-Barlow