'He has so much to live for' - Sister to abseil down Wakefield Cathedral to support brother after testicular cancer diagnosis
There can’t be many people who can say they’ve abseiled 164-feet down the cathedral at the heart of the city where they live – but Helen Nuttall hopes to soon be part of the club.
Next month, the 35-year-old is taking on the big charity abseil at Wakefield Cathedral, descending the tower to raise money in support of her younger brother Rob Schenck, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer four years ago.
"It’s going to be a challenge, I’m nervous about it,” she admits. “But the cause is giving me the motivation I need to go through with it."
“Rob is really touched,” she continues. “He doesn’t like asking for help but unfortunately he needs it at the moment.
"His NHS treatment has come to an end really, there’s nothing more that can help him so we’re relying on private treatment going forward and that comes at a cost.”
Rob, who hopes to be watching his sister with their family members on September 19, was diagnosed with cancer in 2022 after experiencing severe abdominal pain.
He began chemotherapy treatment in Liverpool, where he lives, before undergoing two surgeries in 2023 and 2024 to try to remove the tumour.
To do so was always going to be complicated due to its close proximity to an important vessel but Rob and his family remained hopeful.
"Sadly, after the second procedure, they were told the cancer had spread to various organs.
“He had at best a year, and at worst, just a few months, to live,” Helen says, adding: “Devastating isn’t even the word, it was gut-wrenching.
"We’ve got history of cancer in our family, not related, but we’ve already lost a brother to cancer when he was a child, aged eight in 2001, and then my dad died in 2019 of cancer as well.
"So we were like we can’t believe it’s happening to us again.”
It’s now two-and-a-half years on from the news and Rob, 29, is defying the odds.
He spent a year taking part in a clinical trial with an immunotherapy drug, which Helen says was “the beginning of the longest sustained period of stability in his health since the initial diagnosis”.
But the trial was cut short last October, she says, and Rob’s treatment options are now limited - though he is currently taking medication through a private clinic in London.
“That’s a big part of where the fundraising will go,” says Helen. “Rob is brave and courageous. He’s too young to lose his life – he has so much to live for.”
"I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has already donated or generally supported Rob and our family over the last four years.
"It's not lost on us that it is all contributing to keeping him alive and well and it means more to us than we'll ever be able to put into words.”
- To donate to Helen’s fundraiser, visit gofundme.com/f/for-rob-abseil-down-wakefield-cathedral