A FORMER Sir John Deane’s star pupil who’s been battling stage-four brain cancer since 2021 has launched a campaign to ‘unlock’ potentially revolutionary therapies.
Oxford history graduate, Paul Redgrave, wryly named his tumour ‘Benjamin Button’ after it responded well to early treatments and shrank almost to nothing.
The 28-year-old returned to his London tech industry head-hunter job in 2022, and even scored a promotion, but has since moved home to Barnton for family support after the cancer returned.
Paul has had 30 rounds of radiotherapy and 20 months of gruelling chemo on the aggressive tumour, and is now looking to explore additional and potentially game-changing treatments abroad.
There are new therapies which could have significant benefits for his length and quality of life, but they either aren’t available in the UK, or need to be paid for privately, and could cost up to £200,000.
Acting on advice from his wider medical team, the plan now is for Paul to travel to Germany to access cutting-edge treatments, including specially targeted chemotherapy, and vaccine therapy to train his immune system to attack the cancer cells.
Paul said: “Some of these treatments could be a way of extending my life and making my quality of life better. That’s the ultimate goal.
“I feel tired quite often, and I need a lot of sleep. It’s one of the reasons I’m taking time away from work, thought I hope to be able to go back after a few more treatments.
“I’m also on a ketogenic diet now, which restricts calories from carbohydrates while introducing lots of healthy fats.
“I’m quite a determined person and I intend to beat this. Not just for me, but for my family. They’ve provided huge amounts of support.
“The thing about beating cancer is, if you have a particular treatment which works, you shouldn't rest on your laurels. That’s the best time to go ahead with something new.
“It’s about being proactive and getting ahead of the game. That's why I'm going abroad.
“Obviously, I’m thinking about my own health and recovery, but I also want to raise aware of some of the progress being made in cancer treatments elsewhere, which can be transformational.”
Paul’s sister, Anna Redgrave, is helping with the fundraising campaign, which they’ve called Soar for a Cure, after his childhood passion for birds of prey. You can donate by following the above link.
Anna said: “Our world imploded when Paul was diagnosed, but we’ll never cease to be amazed by his grit and determination.
“He’s a remarkable young man – exceptionally clever, endlessly kind, and with a delightfully wicked sense of humour.
“He now desperately needs unlock new treatment avenues to help him to prolong his life, and act on his dream of helping others get the treatment they need.”
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