In December 1986, Eddie O’Gorman’s youngest child, Paul, was diagnosed with leukaemia aged 14. It advanced rapidly and he died two months later. At the same time, O’Gorman’s daughter Jean, who was in her late 20s, was suffering with aggressive breast cancer.
These events changed the direction of O’Gorman’s life. In 1987, the self-made businessman, who has died aged 90, sold his business interests and spent the rest of his life helping children with cancer. He founded Children with Cancer UK, which became Britain’s leading sponsor of research into childhood cancers, and he remained in charge until three years before he died.
