Rashard, from Wandsworth in London, was just 13 when he died of a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) in July 2016. A promising tennis star of the future, Rashard began to experience double vision. An optician referred him to hospital where a brain tumour was found to be the cause. Rashard was given just nine months to live, however he survived for two years. Since his death, many of Rashard’s friends and family have continued to ‘work hard and enjoy life’, a message he imparted whilst undergoing radiotherapy. His mum, Donna, shares her son’s story to raise awareness of the disease and encourage others to live their life to the full.
Here is Rashard’s story, as told by his mum, Donna…
Rashard was very motivated and determined. He was loving, supportive and caring with his friends and family. He knew exactly what he wanted to do in life and worked hard to achieve it the best he could. Looking back, I feel like he crammed in a lot to his short life accomplishing what he could in that space of time.
When he was ten, Rashard and his sister, Aliya who was 12, were scouted to join Tennis Avenue, a school in New Malden, which provided a place for people to train hard in tennis alongside an education. He’d won the Surrey County Closed competition and was gaining recognition in his high-standard abilities on the court. He got to go to The National Tennis Centre to train and play which is quite prestigious. He was living out his dream.
In 2014, he had double vision. I took him to the opticians who said he needed glasses. This persisted and with the advice of my mum, we went again to the opticians. It was the Boost Opticians at Southside Shopping Centre in Wandsworth. Rashard used his hands to demonstrate what he does when he serves a tennis ball about to hit it, he told the optometrist that he sees two balls and when he hits a specific side of one of them, he knows the ball will be kept in play. I was surprised, I’d not heard him describe it in this way before.
They carried out the tests and found a nerve connecting his left eye and brain wasn’t working properly. They wrote us a letter, one to give to our GP and one to take immediately to St George’s Hospital A&E where he was given a scan.
The doctor said: I’m sorry to tell you, your son has a brain tumour. We were referred to The Royal Marsden where doctors confirmed Rashard had Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) with a prognosis of nine months. He was just 11.
I’d never heard of this disease before. I didn’t know what a brain tumour was before Rashard was diagnosed. Until it comes to your doorstep, you don’t.
The tumour wasn’t operable due to where it was growing in the cerebellum. He was given a round of radiotherapy which helped to shrink the tumour. He continued doing everything he loved, including playing tennis as well as ever before.
His friends from school and tennis club rallied around him, visiting him in hospital shortly after he was diagnosed.
A few years prior to diagnosis, Rashard and his sister Aliya were selected to appear on stage at Wimbledon alongside Tim Henman during the 2012 Olympics. Rashard met Tim Henman again in 2015 at a Royal Marsden Charity event for children with cancer. To look at him, you’d have no idea that Rashard was living with a terminal brain tumour.
We briefly looked at proton beam therapy however, at the time it wasn’t available. Instead, he had another round of radiotherapy.
In March 2016, the tumour started to grow, you could tell because he lost mobility on the left-side of his body. At first, he refused to use a wheelchair but soon needed it to get around. Throughout treatment and as his health deteriorated, Rashard’s tennis friends and coaches from Tennis Avenue continued to support him and keep his spirits high.
Rashard was very clear in what he wanted at the end of his life. He wanted to die at home and discussed his final wishes with his nurse at hospital. He was cremated, something that isn’t normally what happens with my family, but we respected his wishes. He really was wise beyond his years.
His body laid to rest at home, and we had dozens of his friends come round. They’d play table tennis and join us for food. A lot of them were just teenagers who may have never been around death before. It seemed being around our house was part of their grieving process and them wanting to say goodbye.
Rashard’s funeral was a huge event which his friends got to speak at. Some of them sang and they all brought their tennis racquets and held them up like a guard of honour either side of the horse and carriage that carried his coffin. That’s a memory that sticks with me. It’s a loss that was felt by a whole community.
In a TV interview at The National Tennis Centre where the Davis Cup was displayed, Rashard spoke about what the sport meant to him and his diagnosis. He was asked if he had a final message for everyone. He went on to say, “work hard and to chase your dreams”. People to this day approach me and tell me how Rashard’s attitude has inspired them.
I’m really happy that his group of tennis friends are all still in contact with each other. Every year on the anniversary of his death they have a barbecue in his honour. Recently on what should have been Rashard’s 22nd birthday on 28th December 2024, they took part in a run to support their fellow tennis playing friend, Vaishali, as she prepares to run in the TCS London Marathon in aid of Brain Tumour Research in April 2025.
Everybody will face adversity at one point on their life, losing Rashard has taught me to live the most fulfilled life I possibly can, and to encourage others to do the same. I now work for myself, consulting for safeguarding in sports and deliver motivational speeches around the world, sharing Rashard’s legacy wherever I go.
There have been changes in treatment since Rashard died, but there is still a long way to go, especially considering just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.
Donna Knight
January 2025
One in three people in the UK knows someone affected by a brain tumour. This disease is indiscriminate; it can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.
Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this.
If you have been touched by Rashard’s story, you may like to make a donation via www.braintumourresearch.org/donate or leave a gift in your will via www.braintumourresearch.org/legacy
Together we will find a cure