Margaret Parsons, Christie pledger and supporter

Margaret Parsons grew up in the North West but spent much of her adult life working overseas with her husband, Lowell, in international development. The couple worked across the world during their marriage of 50 years, including in Kenya, Nigeria and the Middle East.

In later life, Margaret and Lowell moved back to Manchester where Lowell was diagnosed with prostate cancer. As Lowell started his treatment, Margaret saw the impact it was having on his quality of life. When he died, Margaret wanted to do something special in his memory, so she included a gift in her Will to The Christie Charity.

Margaret sadly died just 6 months after her husband. She wanted her legacy to be used to improve treatment options for cancer patients. The gift she included in her Will is now helping support research at The Christie that is designed to do exactly that.

Dr Eleanor Todd is funded by The Christie Charity and manages the TARGET National study, a national programme. Her project works to identify cancer markers, with the aim of developing more personalised cancer care and is now supported by Margaret’s incredible legacy.

“We are all incredibly grateful to Margaret for this generous gift in memory of Lowell. Margaret’s legacy is helping to provide vital support so we can keep developing kinder, gentler, more effective treatment options for our patients.”

Thanks to Margaret, our researchers can continue their work, and our patients are more likely to benefit from access to pioneering research.

Dr Eleanor Todd

As a supporter of The Christie Charity, you're entitled to a free Will with our will-writing partners, Octopus Legacy - online, over the phone or in a face-to-face appointment.

Visit the Octopus Legacy website to get started.

A photo on the left of Dr Eleanor Todd and on the right, Christie gift in Will pledger Margaret Parsons.

Left: Dr Eleanor Todd; Right: Margaret Parsons