Meet the Trustees

The Candlelighters Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees whose responsibility it is to safeguard the charity’s interests and ensure that the money raised every year is put to the very best possible use.

Among the trustees are parents of children who have or have had cancer; ex-patients, and medical experts - in short, people who have been through the experience of cancer and understand the effects that a cancer diagnosis can have on everyday life.

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Board of Trustees

Chair - Deborah Kaiper-Holmes

Deborah Kaiper-Holmes is wife to Neil and mum to two children. Her youngest child was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of two and after undergoing treatment at St James’s, is currently in remission. Deborah joined the Board in October 2005 and took over the chair in 2007.

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Deborah and Neil have made presentations at cancer conferences and are happy to talk to the media and at fundraising events. They are keen to promote the message that a diagnosis of cancer does not signal the end of hope and that the cancer journey can be a positive experience.

Parent Trustee - Keith Hardcastle

Keith Hardcastle lives in York with his wife Michelle, and children Megan and Harry. Harry was diagnosed in 2006, at the age of three, with non Hodgkin's lymphoma (Type B Cell Burkett's disease) and subsequently underwent treatment at St James’s Hospital. He continues to attend the Children's Day Hospital under the excellent care of the team at St James’s.

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Keith is the director of an award-winning Leeds based architects practice, and has a keen interest in environmentally friendly ‘green’ design and conservation. Outside of his professional role, and supporting Candlelighters, Keith enjoys running, fell walking and mountain biking.

Parent Trustee - Stephen Redman

Stephen Redman lives in York with his wife Pauline and their three daughters. Stephen has had an active involvement with church life since he was old enough to choose and in 2003 he became a full-time Christian Minister in York.

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In 1998, Stephen’s four-year-old son Rocky was found to have a tumour and received treatment at St James’s. Rocky survived for almost three years, leaving the family with wonderful memories, great hope and undented faith. Stephen has continued his involvement with the Children’s Cancer Unit and Candlelighters, joining the Board in 2007.

Parent Trustee - Roger Stocker

Roger and his wife Louise live near Wetherby with their daughter Kelly and son George. George was diagnosed with a brain tumour in April 2007 aged nine and completed initial treatment in September 2008.

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Roger founded a business in the IT sector in 2000, and built it into one of the fastest growing IT consultancies in the UK, before selling the business in 2007. He now sits on the boards of several technology companies as a non-executive director.

Outside work, Roger is a keen rugby player and junior coach at Wetherby Rugby Club. He is also chairman of Grange Park Sports Club.

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Parent Trustee - Gary Whitelam

Gary Whitelam lives in Boston Spa with wife Kay and three daughters Polly, Tess and Alice. Born and educated in Hull, he trained as a Chartered Accountant and currently works for an insurance company in Leeds.

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His middle daughter Tess was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was two and the tumour recurred when she was seven. Thanks to great care from everyone at the Leeds General Infirmary, St James’s, and the Cookridge Radiotherapy Unit, she has made a good recovery both times and is now at secondary school.

Patient Trustee - Yorke Eaton

Yorke Eaton was born in Bradford and now lives in Cottingley. In 2000 he trained in law to become a solicitor and now works for a commercial law firm in Leeds.

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Yorke was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma at the age of 13. The care and attention given to Yorke at St James’s enabled him to make a good recovery and to lead a successful and fulfilling life. Yorke became a Trustee in 2007 and is delighted to be able to offer a 'patient’s perspective' to Candlelighters.

Medical Trustee - Dr Martin Elliott

Martin was appointed as a consultant in Paediatric Oncology in Leeds and simultaneously as a Candlelighter’s Trustee in 2005. He trained in Paediatric Oncology in Leeds and Liverpool, researching how cells die in response to chemotherapy agents and methods of making the chemotherapy more effective. Martin’s post involves treating patients with solid tumours and brain tumours.

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Martin believes that the most important aspect of being a Candlelighter’s Trustee is being involved in the decisions regarding which projects are funded, thus ensuring that fundraisers’ hard efforts translate into the maximum benefit for patients and families.

Medical Trustee - Dr Adam Glaser

Having qualified in medicine from the University of London in 1989 Adam trained in Paediatrics and Paediatric Oncology. He was a lecturer at the University of Nottingham, Fellow in Paediatric Oncology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and Senior Registrar at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. In 1999, his research resulted in the award of Doctor of Medicine for a thesis entitled “Health Status Following Therapeutic Interventions in Children and Young People”.

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Since 1999, Adam has been a Consultant Paediatric and Adolescent Oncologist in Leeds. He has developed the long-term follow-up service for the comprehensive care of survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer.

Adam believes Candlelighters makes a significant impact on the clinical cancer journey for patients in Leeds and the Unit’s research activities.

Medical Trustee - Professor Sally Kinsey

Professor Kinsey has been a Consultant Paediatric Haematologist and Candlelighters Trustee at St James’s University Hospital since 1992 and Lead Clinician for the Paediatric Haematology and Oncology Unit since 1999. Sally was made Professor of Paediatric Haematology at Leeds University in October 2007.

Read more about Sally

Sally is now the Chairman of the Bone Marrow Central Review Panel for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) trial entries. She has been a member of the Severe Chronic Neutropenia International Registry Advisory Board since 1995 and the UK Children’s Cancer Study Oversight Committee.

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Medical Trustee - Dr Sue Picton

Dr Sue Picton is a Paediatric Oncology Consultant and treats children with many types of tumours, but has a particular interest in brain tumours. She trained initially in Nottingham before moving to Manchester where she carried out research on high dose chemotherapy and stem cell rescue treatments for children with solid tumours before being appointed as a Consultant in Leeds in 1996.

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In Leeds, Dr Picton heads the Neuro-oncology Team which, in 2007, was short-listed for the Hospital Doctor Oncology Team of the Year and is involved in plans to develop a specialised brain tumour research laboratory in Leeds.

Sue has been a Trustee since she started at Leeds and feels that Candlelighters’ role in supporting children and their families is as important as their role in promoting research into children’s cancer.

Medical Trustee - Dr Mike Richards

Mike Richards was appointed to his current post of Consultant Paediatric Haematologist at St James’s’ Hospital in 1998. He underwent undergraduate training in Oxford and was trained in Haematology in Cambridge and Sheffield before arriving in Leeds. He received his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Oxford.

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Mike’s duties involve the care of children with leukaemia but he also looks after children with other blood disorders, including coagulation dysfunction. He has managerial responsibilities in the laboratory practice of haematology within St James’s’ Hospital and is involved in the organisation of the training of prospective haematologists.

Medical Trustee - Dr Geoff Shenton

Geoff graduated from Sheffield in 1995 having taken a year out to do research into tumour biology, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research. It was during his time at the Edinburgh Sick Children’s Hospital that he decided to pursue a career in paediatric haematology.

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As well as leukaemia, his other main responsibility is for bone marrow transplants. Working with Dr Sally Kinsey, he is looking into ways of expanding the service, especially with regards to alternative donors for those who currently would not be able to find a match.

Paediatric haematology is an ever changing and advancing speciality. Leukaemia treatment has evolved markedly since its beginnings in the 1950s. With the advent of new drugs and new technology it will continue to advance both in terms of better survival and less toxicity. Geoff believes that the invaluable work of Candlelighters helps towards further research and study and is delighted to be one of the Trustees.

Independent Trustee - Professor Cliff Bailey

Professor Bailey was a member of the original Candlelighters’ Board of Trustees, a position he took up in 1977 shortly after his appointment as the (only) consultant in Paediatric Oncology in Leeds.

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He worked with the Medical Research Council on the early studies of the treatment for leukaemia and with the International Society for Paediatric Oncology on the first studies of the use of chemotherapy in brain tumours. Cliff founded the bone marrow transplant unit in Leeds and was also responsible for the founding of the Martin House Children’s Hospice.

He became Director of Research and Development to St James’s Hospital in 1991, to the Northern and Yorkshire region in 1995, and to the North of England for the Department of Health in 2002.

Independent Trustee - Professor Sir Alex Markham

Alex Markham initially completed a Chemistry PhD degree at the University of Birmingham in 1974 and was one of the pioneers of molecular genetics research in the UK from the late 1980s. Administrative duties at national level include the chairmanship/ membership of a number of influential committees for the Medical Research Council, the Department of Health, and the Welcome Trust.

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A Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, he was, until recently, Chairman of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) in the UK, and remains on its Board. Awarded a knighthood for his services to Cancer Research, he has remained a Trustee since he first came to Leeds and now heads the Candlelighters' Scientific Sub-Committee.

Company Secretary - Sally Amos (now retired)

Sally has been involved with Candlelighters since 1986 when her daughter Vanessa was treated for Ewings Sarcoma. Seeking a way to say thank you for the wonderful treatment her daughter had received and horrified at the then shortage of equipment on the Unit, she set up the Harrogate Candlelighters Group with some close friends.