Brave Staffordshire teen looks on the bright side
At just 18, Stephen Sutton has had to face the devastating news he is suffering from an incurable cancer.
But instead of feeling sorry of himself, he has drawn up a remarkable bucket list – of 46 things to do before he dies – and has posted it online.
It is an endearing insight into the Staffordshire teenager's personality, his likes and eccentricities, and his winning sense of humour. Among the entries are getting a tattoo, flying somewhere first-class, hugging an animal that is bigger than himself, meeting Jimmy Carr, starring as an extra in a film or music video and crowd-surfing in a rubber dingy.
The tattoo entry is revealing. He wants a troll just underneath his left armpit so that the hair serves as the troll's distinctive mop. "It's a bit of a joke, tattoos are supposed to represent you," he says.
"He told a lot of jokes, he was making everyone laugh," Stephen says.
"I'd already got tickets for his show at Wolverhampton that night and he invited me backstage during the interval, so I got to meet him twice."
Stephen's father Andy has twice beaten bowel cancer and his own diagnosis came three years ago. "It was still a shock," he says. "There's a strong family history but even then you don't think it's going to be you. I was 15, and you think of it as an old man's disease."
The cancer quickly spread to his knee and then his pelvis and most recently he discovered a growth in his groin.
It was in November, as doctors were preparing to amputate his left leg, that it was discovered the cancer had spread and that it was incurable.
For the high-flying student, from Ogley Vale, who had hoped to become a doctor, the tragic news was mixed with a large dollop of irony. But he took an extraordinarily philosophical view of his future and quickly came to some decisions.
He said: "It means that realistically I'm facing a very uncertain, and probably very limited, future so I'm doing what I can to make the best of my time."
