Tony Williams, a 62-year-old father of three from Norbury, South London, died on November 12, 2025, just months after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. His daughter Zara, 23, is now supporting Blood Cancer UK's Trial Treat Beat campaign to improve survival rates for people with the deadliest blood cancers.
Tiredness dismissed as work stress
During the summer of 2025, Tony, who worked as head of IT five days a week, began experiencing fatigue. At the time, his daughter Zara was frequently attending hospital appointments for endometriosis, and the family initially attributed his tiredness to the stressful period and his demanding work schedule.
Following a family holiday to Murcia, Spain, Tony took time off work and spent much of it resting. This prompted his family to insist he have blood tests at Croydon University Hospital. After a blood test and bone marrow biopsy, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia on July 18, 2025.
Chemotherapy and complications
Tony was transferred to the Royal Marsden Hospital and began chemotherapy. The initial round reduced his blood cancer from 70 per cent to 15 per cent. However, a second, more intensive course of treatment proved unsuccessful, and the leukaemia surged to 80 per cent.
Tony developed a lung infection and suffered a collapsed lung. Medical staff indicated that had the infection cleared, he may have qualified for a clinical trial. It did not clear, and in early November the family were told he had approximately a month remaining. He died five days later.
Daughter's campaign for better treatments
Zara, a musician and classically trained pianist, said: "My dad was waking up at, you know, three or four in the morning to drive me to hospital. At that point, when I was calling my mum saying, like, dad's sleeping all the time, I didn't question it because, you know, if you're awake at 3am, and then you're going to work at six, of course you're going to be tired."
She added: "There is absolutely nothing my dad could have done that would have prevented this or changed the outcome. Now I feel anger. At the beginning, it was just confusion."
Helen Rowntree, CEO of Blood Cancer UK, said: "For too long, people with some of the deadliest blood cancers have been left behind by progress. Through Trial Treat Beat, we're investing in ground-breaking clinical trials that could double the survival rate for thousands of people across the UK. With the public's support, we can give more people the chance of life after a blood cancer diagnosis and families more time with their loved ones."
