Tributes to youth cancer charity founder

Jacquie Roeder, 71, set up the charity following the death of her 17-year-old daughter Laura Crane, a former Brighouse High School student, in May 1996.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “It is with great sadness that we inform supporters that Laura Crane’s mum and charity founder Jacquie Roeder has passed away following her own fight against cancer.

“Jacquie started the charity to continue her seventeen-year-old daughter’s courageous fight against cancer and over the last twenty years Laura’s charity has made a real difference to the lives of thousands of young cancer patients.

“Jacquie committed her time, talent and determination for many years to ensure that Laura’s charity made a significant difference to the lives of others.

“The Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust is the legacy of two incredibly brave and brilliant women.”

The Trust funds targeted medical research for cancers specifically in teenagers and young adults

Laura was 15, studying for her GCSEs at Brighouse High School, when she was taken ill. After the removal of her right ovary, she was diagnosed as having an uncomplicated form of cancer. But subsequent tests revealed Laura had four different types of very rare cancer – her case was one of only a handful ever reported in the world.

She would later endure bouts of chemotherapy and a further operation to remove her other ovary, her womb and part of her bowel.

But despite her bravery, she lost her life two weeks after her 17th birthday in May 1996.

On the day of her death Mrs Roeder decided to set up a charity, to ensure her daughter’s fighting spirit lived on.