Derrick Derbyshire, who was told he might not survive the night or live to see his 21st birthday, has reunited with the doctor who treated him more than four decades ago. Now 63 and living in Davyhulme, Greater Manchester, Derrick met Dr Howard “Howie” Scarffe, now 79, face-to-face for the first time in 39 years at The Christie’s anniversary event last month.
A Life-Changing Diagnosis
In March 1982, aged 18, Derrick was admitted to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). He was bedridden and barely able to walk, and his parents were warned he might not survive the night. He was admitted to Ward 12, where he came under the care of a young consultant, Dr Howard “Howie” Scarffe, who would later become the founding head of the Adult Leukaemia Unit (ALU) at The Christie.
Derrick was later told that, without a bone marrow transplant, he would be unlikely to reach 21. After chemotherapy and thanks to his pioneering team, he underwent the transplant in September 1983. Additionally, Derrick was told he would most likely never have children due to the impacts of his treatments, but he and his wife Tracey welcomed two sons naturally.
Reunited With Doctor
Derrick, a retired manufacturing engineer and school facilities manager, has now reunited with Howie, who treated him more than 40 years ago. Derrick said: “At the end of the day, I could have died, but I didn’t and I survived to have a bone marrow transplant. I was told that, most likely, we wouldn’t be able to have children, but then children came along. There’s a guardian angel looking after me.”
Speaking about seeing Howie in person again after 39 years, Derrick added: “It was an emotional day for me. I owe him my gratitude because he was a pioneer and I was just a patient at a certain time that needed his help. I’ll be forever grateful for Howie.”
From Fit Athlete to Bedridden
Prior to his diagnosis, Derrick was always active, playing sports such as football and squash and training for marathons. He described himself as “a fit 18-year-old” and said: “I had never been in hospital in my life.” Over time, however, Derrick noticed his training became harder, he felt more tired, he lost weight, and he experienced sickness. While he visited his GP on numerous occasions and was prescribed antibiotics, he said leukaemia was not “on their radar”.
“It was bizarre, really, because I just had no idea and my parents had no idea,” he said. “But unfortunately, it got to a situation where I was bedridden and I couldn’t walk. I found it difficult walking from my bedroom to the bathroom.” At this point, Derrick’s mother called for an ambulance, and he was transported to Trafford General Hospital before being transferred to The Christie, a specialist cancer centre in Manchester. He was officially diagnosed with AML in March 1982, and due to being “in a bad way”, his parents were told his chances of survival were slim.
Pioneering Treatment and a Memorable Ward Story
After being stabilised, Derrick said he was “blasted” with “very aggressive” chemotherapy, which caused him to become “very weak and feeble” and experience sickness and hair loss. Howie recalled a “memorable” story on the ward: “Instead of just letting his hair fall out, Derrick was pulling it out and he was sticking it onto a cardboard urine bottle. He made a dog out of it and he called the dog Dougal after the dog in The Magic Roundabout. By the next ward round, he had built a kennel for the dog, so he earned the nickname ‘Double D’ after Dougal the dog and he then named me ‘Big H’ as I’m very tall. The nurses even requested a psychiatric opinion as they hadn’t seen somebody use their hair to make a dog before.”
When Howie first arrived in Manchester in 1974, The Christie did not have a specialist leukaemia service and did not carry out bone marrow transplants. Working alongside colleagues including Professor Derek Crowther, Dr James Chang, Dr Godfrey Morgenstern and consultant radiotherapist Dr David Deakin, the team helped establish one of the North West’s earliest adult bone marrow transplant programmes. This was life-changing for Derrick, as he had relapsed after chemotherapy and was told a transplant was his “only chance of longevity at that time”.
Transplant and New Beginnings
Doctors identified Derrick’s younger brother Robert as an excellent donor match, and a bone marrow transplant became possible in September 1983. Derrick likened the transplant to a “NASA space launch”, as the procedure was in its “infancy” at the time. He remained on his own in an “isolation tent” for around 22 days, surrounded by plastic screens, while clean air was filtered in to avoid infection. When the screens were taken down and he was told the transplant was working, he said this felt “surreal”.
Derrick continued to have check-ups after his transplant and later ran the Manchester Marathon in 1985 with his brother Robert to raise money for the new unit. After Derrick laid the foundation stone for it in 1985, the Adult Leukaemia Unit opened in 1986, and Derrick was among those welcoming the Duchess of Kent for an official opening in March 1987. Derrick then married Tracey, gained a degree in engineering, and went on to have two sons, now aged 21 and 15, despite being warned that treatment might make fatherhood unlikely. The couple even went through IVF treatment and experienced two miscarriages, but they conceived both children naturally.
Ongoing Health Challenges and a Message of Hope
Derrick required a heart transplant in January 2016 after developing treatment-related heart disease and is currently awaiting a kidney transplant, with the same brother who donated his bone marrow now being assessed as a kidney donor. He also started dialysis in April 2025. One of the major milestones, however, was meeting Howie again face-to-face after 39 years at The Christie’s anniversary event last month, to celebrate four decades of progress in blood cancer care.
Reflecting on the last four decades, Derrick said: “It’s a mix of emotions because, somehow, I came out the other end. My advice to others would be, never give up. It’s a tricky road, there are challenges that are thrown in your face, but keep on plugging away and have hope.” Howie added: “You wouldn’t believe the story, if it wasn’t Derrick. Seeing him again was emotional for all of us. When I became a consultant, my aim was to cure at least one patient of leukaemia. I later thought Derrick might be that one.”
