Big band night in Shoreham has a red theme in memory of Southwick teenager
An evening of big band classics will see people dancing the night away in red in memory of a Southwick teenager who died from a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Charlie Hilton was 16 when he lost his life to Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumour (DSRCT). His family established the charity Charlie's Wish in his memory, to raise awareness of rare sarcomas and support the continuing pursuit of answers for young people affected by this type of cancer.
Grandad Dave Hilton said: “We are staging a big band concert featuring The Les Paul Big Band in aid of Charlie's Wish, which raises funds to support the Institute of Cancer Research and raise awareness of rare cancers in children and teenagers.”
The charity dance will be at The Shoreham Centre on Saturday, November 7, at 8pm with all money raised in aid of childhood cancer research. Tickets £15 in advance from charlieswishcharity.co.uk or £18 on the door.
Charlie was an unwavering Liverpool Football Club supporter and people are therefore asked to wear something red in his memory.
He was a student at Shoreham Academy when he was diagnosed with cancer in August 2012. Almost exactly two years later, the family was told it was terminal and the community rallied to help fund a dream trip to Italy, so he could see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He took his trip of a lifetime in November 2014 and died at Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice on July 22, 2015.
DSRCT is a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma, a type of cancer that can occur anywhere throughout the body but is almost always found in the abdomen. It is often associated with children and young adults and is much more common in males.
Researchers are still trying to find out the cause. Charlie's Wish grew from the family's determination to respond to the lack of awareness and dedicated clinical options. They said it keeps Charlie's legacy connected to an active pursuit of better understanding, better treatment and ultimately a cure.