Summer's Brave Fight: Supporting Finley's Touch & Children with Cancer Fund

My wife Michaela and I never imagined we'd be here raising money on behalf of our little girl. Cancer touches so many lives, and we'd be incredibly grateful if you could help us support two wonderful small local charities that have been there for our family throughout this journey — Finley's Touch and Children with Cancer Fund.

I'm Matt, a 35-year-old dad to two beautiful young girls, Summer (1) and Amber (3). We live in Newick, East Sussex, and this is our story.

In October 2025, we noticed Summer's tummy was unusually firm for a 14-month-old. Like most parents, we hoped it would settle as she started walking more, but the worry wouldn't go away. Michaela took her to our local GP, and from that moment our world changed forever.
The GP sent us straight to A&E at the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital. After 10 days of tests, MRI and CT scans, we were told Summer had a Wilms tumour — a type of kidney cancer. Nothing prepares you for those words. The heartbreak of seeing your tiny child face something so serious is indescribable.
Summer was transferred to Royal St George's Hospital in London, where she had a port fitted under general anaesthetic. She was then referred to The Royal Marsden and chemotherapy began the very same day. After four weeks of treatment, she returned to St George's for major open surgery to remove the tumour, her kidney, sinus and affected lymph nodes. Summer was so incredibly brave, and the NHS staff were beyond amazing — kind, skilled, and compassionate every step of the way. We feel truly fortunate to have received such outstanding care, and we're forever grateful to every doctor, nurse and carer who looked after Summer.
Post-surgery histology revealed a second tumour in the kidney sinus, leading to a final diagnosis of stage 2 Wilms tumour. Summer is now in the middle of a further 27 weeks of chemotherapy to eliminate any remaining cancer cells and give her the very best chance.

This has brought me to today, where I want to help raise money to support two charities who have helped us. To do this, I’m going to be completing ‘Beating the Bounds of Chailey’ — a challenging local race, approx. 24 miles with running, biking, rowing, around the village boundaries, reviving a classic community event on 9th May 2026.
By doing this I want to give something back by raising money for two small, local charities that have supported us and so many other families in our area facing childhood cancer:

Finley's Touch — providing hospital survival bags, financial grants, National Trust memberships and moments of joy for children with cancer across Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Hampshire.
Children with Cancer Fund — granting wishes and offering practical and emotional support to children up to 18 and their families in East Sussex, Brighton & Hove.

Every donation, no matter how small, will make a real difference to families going through what we've been through — and help bring some light, hope and happiness during the darkest times.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Matt, Michaela, Amber & Summer
xxx