Richards was only 17 when he was diagnosed with cancer in August of 2004. It had taken around six to nine months of repeated misdiagnosis from his local GP, and two further biopsies before anything could be done to help alleviate the severe pain he had been suffering in his back and leg. He was miserable, thoroughly worn out, and was willing to accept pretty much any explanation for his discomfort at this point, as long as something was done to make him feel better. Nobody expected the final diagnosis to be as serious as it eventually was.

Richard was eventually referred to  Addenbrooke's Hospital  in Cambridge where he met his specialist consultant, Dr Earl who gave him a final diagnosis of 'Ewing's Sarcoma'. It so transpired that Richard had a large tumour growing in his pelvis, and the pain he had been suffering was caused by it pressing on his sciatic nerve, sending near constant pain shooting down his leg and across his lower back.

The mere word 'Cancer' cuts through you like a knife, and is the last thing anybody wanted or indeed expected to hear. However, Richard reacted very calmly to the news, and nodding in acceptance he said, "Ok, so what's the next step?"

The first step was to get Richard into hospital for some immediate and intensive treatment to kill the tumour and put him on the road to recovery. He started his first stage of intensive chemotherapy treatment immediately, which ran for a month. It wasn't plain sailing though; he reacted badly to the chemo, becoming confused, 'spaced out', and thoroughly depressed. The dosage of chemotherapy was quickly altered by another specialist consultant - Dr Hatcher - who closely monitored Richards's progress from that time onwards, but the ordeal was still a horrific one.

Not only did he have to face the horrible ordeal of losing his hair, but also that of his friends from school deserting him completely. Richard was desperately ill, sick to his stomach from the chemotherapy, bald, constipated, and absolutely heartbroken as his school friends decided that the best way to deal with his illness was not to deal with it at all. He felt alone and hopeless; in only a few short days his life and hopes for the future had completely fallen to pieces. He needed a new focus.

The source of this focus came from a direction that nobody expected. Initially, Richard had been wanting to continue his education further to gain qualifications in computing for a career in I.T., however the rigorous treatment regime made this next to impossible. When sitting around in his bed on the adult cancer ward of  Addenbrooke's Hospital  , trying to think about things that interested him, he once made the comment "Well, I quite like photographs."

Richard bought himself a digital camera, and after his chemo had finished, he discovered that he had a natural flair for photography. A six-week course of Radiotherapy followed his initial chemotherapy treatment, followed by yet more chemo. Richard took it all in his stride, becoming a passionate and talented photographer, finding a new meaning to his life that had been devastated by such a cruel and unexpected diagnosis only weeks earlier.

After the second course of Chemotherapy, Richard returned to Addenbrokes for fortnightly check ups and regular Bone & CT scans to check on his development. The first course of treatment appeared to have been a complete success, and no further treatment was needed. Richard's hair grew back (which he himself decided to grow to shoulder length) and he grew a goatee beard to give himself a new image. He was finally well again, he had a new sense of purpose with his new found gift for photography, and he was looking forward to the future.

The year was 2006.

Despite his new-found enthusiasm for life and photography, Richard was unaware that the type of cancer he'd been diagnosed with had spread its spores all around his body. It wasn't long before the CT & bone scans began to pick up on areas of growth again, and once more Richard was plunged back into the scarily familiar cycle of treatment. The consultants reacted very quickly to this re-diagnosis, and Richard was again brought in for another course of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy treatment.

During his chemotherapy, he was once again admitted to the adult ward as his age-grouping classed him as an adult. He found the environment to be extremely depressing. The other patients were generally friendly enough, and Richard even shared his experiences with a few people who had only just been diagnosed and didn't know what to expect from their treatment. It was rare to see another teenage face amongst the patients that were admitted to the ward, and even rarer to see anyone make a full recovery.

Despite this latest reversal of fortunes, Richard always tried to remain upbeat, focussing on his photography and his ability to related and converse well with all the adults and staff on the ward. After his treatment had finished and the familiar cycle of scans and checkups had began once again, he was soon a familiar face around the ward as he would visit regularly just to say 'Hi' when he was in the hospital.

Richard became really scared on his third diagnosis. A frightening lump appeared at the back of his skull, and swelling appeared on his head close to his left temple. All of the tumours that had appeared in his body had been classed as inoperable due to their close proximity to vital parts of his brain and spine, and this latest tumour was in a very dangerous place.

He endured yet another course of Radiotherapy treatment to which he reacted extremely well; the tumour shrunk down to almost invisible proportions.

Throughout all of his treatments, Richard's spirits were always very high and he was always focused on the end goal, ensuring when he felt well he took every opportunity open to him. As he seemed to be doing well, the consultants decided to keep Richard out of hospital by putting him on a course of Chemotherapy tablets to give him the freedom to live his life to the full outside the trapping of hospital life and routine. He did have his low moments, but out of the most unlikely of circumstance he had found his passion for photography and wherever he was his camera would be close at hand.

Richard made a lot of friends throughout his treatment with the help of two great charities;  CLIC Sargent  and the  Teenage Cancer Trust. They organised fun activities for the teenage patients in the area and Richard became very involved. He also became very passionate about ensuring that a teenage cancer ward was to be built at Addenbrookes in Cambridge, specifically designed for young teenagers who were undergoing treatment, so they would at least be able to be around people of their own age group. He became very involved with whatever fundraising events he could, and even held his own charity photo exhibition, selling off framed copies of many of his photographs to raise funds for the new ward.

Sadly however, Richard's relentless illness got the better of him. He passed away in June of 2009 and is sorely missed by everybody his life had touched. But his passion lives on in his photography, and through the ongoing fight for completion of the  teenage cancer ward at Addenbrookes.