A tribute to Jay – much loved, and already much missed

We are sad to share the news that unfortunately Jay McLaughlin, who was one of our patient and carer representatives, has passed away peacefully at St Joseph’s Hospice at the age of 43.

Jay was a wonderful person with boundless humour and positivity, which he used to help others in any way he could.

Jay was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in January 2021. As a fitness fanatic, he knew his symptoms of feeling gassy and bloated were unusual, however he attributed it to either diet or stress.

When the problem persisted, Jay booked a GP appointment. After an initial consultation and testing, he was immediately referred to the Royal London Hospital where he was diagnosed with bowel cancer – with the same rare mutation that Dame Deborah James also had.

Following treatment, Jay received the all-clear in January 2022, but just a month later, Jay started to get a twisting feeling in his liver. By the end of May, he was told he had a 5cm tumour on his liver (which later grew to 12cm) and was referred to St Barts for treatment, where he was well looked after by staff and he was making good progress.

Unfortunately, this year, he found that cancer was now in his lungs, and he was ultimately admitted to St Joseph’s Hospice, who supported him in his final days.

Femi Odewale, Managing Director of the North East London Cancer Alliance, says “Jay was a wonderful person. He loved Star Wars, described himself as a gamer geek and was very passionate about photography. He was also passionate about encouraging people to contact their GP as early as possible to ensure their cancers can be treated at an earlier stage and have better outcomes. We will all miss him very much.”

Noel Judge, Chair of the Patient and Carer Voice in Cancer group for the North East London Cancer Alliance says “I had the pleasure of working with Jay through our patient and carer representative group. He always gave so much to support others and to raise awareness of cancer. Our thoughts and best wishes are with his family’.