Darrell McDonald, a tireless advocate for sarcoma cancer awareness and recent recipient of a prestigious advocacy award, has died after a four-year journey with the rare cancer, synovial sarcoma. He was 44.
Darrell, a charity manager and father of two, transformed his devastating diagnosis into a powerful mission to help others after discovering a lump on his neck in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially struggling to get an in-person appointment, he was prescribed antibiotics for what doctors thought was an infection. By the time he received his correct diagnosis – delivered on his 40th birthday – the cancer had already spread to his lungs.
The timing was cruelly ironic; on the same day he should have been celebrating a new job offer. “They remarked, ‘you don’t seem to be excited at the news’,” Darrell later recalled. “I said, actually, I have just been told I have cancer.”
Within weeks, an MRI revealed two lesions in his brain. Darrell later underwent pioneering CyberKnife radiotherapy and faced gruelling chemotherapy treatments with doxorubicin, a drug so toxic patients can only receive six rounds.
“It was so bad that one day I fainted and hit my head on the sink in the bathroom,” he said. Due to COVID restrictions, he faced most of these treatments alone, with his young family waiting in the car.
Despite these challenges, Darrell and his wife made a conscious decision to focus on what they could control. “We decided to spend a lot of quality time together while we could,” he said. This positive approach led him to write “Straight Red?”, a book about his battle with cancer, with all proceeds supporting vital sarcoma research.
Sarcoma UK’s Ambassador and Darrell’s close friend for many years, TV personality and friend Charlene White, led tributes. She said: “He has been my brother since we met at 16 years old, I was the best man at his wedding, and god-mother to his eldest. The nonsense our little crew would get up to was hilarious back in the day, he was there for every milestone. My heart is broken into a million pieces. He was by far one of the kindest men I’ve ever met, and throughout his treatment he made it his mission to shine a light on sarcoma alongside Sarcoma UK in the hope no other family had to go through what he and his family went through: raising awareness, raising money, educating doctors. He was quite simply, amazing.”
Richard Davidson, Chief Executive of Sarcoma UK, said: “Darrell faced synovial sarcoma with extraordinary courage and grace. His story reached thousands through media coverage and his powerful social media presence. Through his book and advocacy work, Darrell gave hope to countless others facing sarcoma.”
Kerry Reeves-Kneip, Sarcoma UK’s Director of Fundraising and Communications, added: “Darrell was such an inspiring, caring man – it’s so unfair. The world is certainly a lot dimmer without Darrell in it.”
Darrell’s advocacy work included featuring in a nationwide billboard campaign during Sarcoma Awareness Month 2024, highlighting that more than one in three people wait more than six months for a sarcoma diagnosis.
In his final public speech to accept the Roger Wilson Inspiration of the Year award at the Sarcoma UK Shining Star Awards held at London’s Mansion House last November, Darrell shared a poignant message that encapsulated his approach to life: “When you wake up, think about those people you really love and really enjoy spending time with. And make that your aim. Don’t go fighting for money and things and stuff. It’s all about people and about love.”
He leaves behind his wife and two children, who were aged three and five when he was first diagnosed.
Sarcoma is a rare form of cancer that affects more than 5,300 people each year in the UK. Sarcoma UK is committed to continuing Darrell’s legacy through increased investment in targeted research programmes aimed at developing better treatments and outcomes for future patients.
