When Philip Duncombe received his prostate cancer diagnosis, it came as a complete shock. Weeks earlier, he and his wife Sue had embarked on a dream holiday to South Africa.

It was Christmas Eve 2004, and after many years together, they decided to tie the knot the following year. Yet, they were unaware that their future plans would soon be shattered.

Sue said: "Before our trip, Philip had had a routine PSA test and we returned home to an email from the GP saying that his result was high. He was advised to have another PSA test – and this time, the result came back even higher. So began the whole cycle that led to his diagnosis of prostate cancer at the age of 52.

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"Philip had surgery to remove his prostate, but before this went ahead, we rapidly organised our wedding for May 2005. Philip’s mantra in life had always been ‘What are you waiting for?’ We had already agreed that we would get married, so it made sense to get on and do it then. His words still ring in my ears today and they have helped me to get on with life since his death."

But just a year after having surgery the cancer came back. Philip underwent a series of treatments, including nine rounds of chemotherapy, but within a couple of years the cancer became resistant to the treatment and spread. Sue said: "It went past his lymph nodes and reached his bones, and at this point, we thought we were out of options."

Philip’s quality of life deterioraged. He couldn’t leave the house much, and was unable to play his beloved golf - something his doctor has used as a marker for how well he was doing.

Then his oncologist suggested Philip should consider a clinical trial of abiraterone in patients where chemotherapy had failed. In January 2009, Philip joined the phase III trial, which was accepting patient volunteers in Oxford where they lived.

Within two weeks his PSA had fallen significantly and he was feeling much better. Sue said: "I was staggered by the impact abiraterone had on his quality of life. Philip was a really social person, but he’d found it so difficult to go out that he would often just stay at home, drained and exhausted.

"I remember just a couple of weeks after Philip started abiraterone, I found him sitting at his laptop and asked what he was doing – he told me he was looking at flights to Cape Town. A friend of Philip’s from golf was going there with his wife, and they had a spare room.

"We went to South Africa in February 2009, in between clinical appointments. It was such a special trip. Philip got to play golf, and we got to see bits of the country we’d been to previously that had a special meaning for us, as of course, it was in South Africa that we had decided to get married just before Philip’s diagnosis. It was incredible, and it was unbelievable Philip was able to go when he’d recently been so unwell."

The couple continued to make the most of his upturn in health, travelling over the next few months including a trip to Provence in France and a flotilla holiday in the Mediterranean. Sue said: "It was a very active time, and it was such a contrast from when Philip was just sat at home, feeling tired, drained, and happy if people came to visit.

"Abiraterone gave Philip the chance to live life to the full for eight whole months. Sadly, the treatment eventually stopped working, and Philip died on Christmas Day 2009. In some ways, this seemed an apt date for someone with such a big personality. Philip was a very extrovert character and his death on Christmas Day almost felt like a statement – nobody could forget that date.

"In the years immediately after his death, Christmas time was difficult. I had lots of friends and a supportive family, but it felt strange to suddenly be by myself. I was always invited to celebrate with people at their houses, but it felt to me as if I was joining other people’s Christmases. There was always a pressure to do something on Christmas Day, so in the end I decided to take control and for several years, I volunteered for the charity Crisis.

"Philip always used to say that Christmas Day was ‘just another day’ and, in some ways, that made it easier for me to deal with the fact that it marked the anniversary of his death. I also had his ‘What are you waiting for?’ mantra in my head and this was a help too. I knew he was not coming back, but I was lucky enough to be in good health, financially secure and I had plenty of support from family and friends, so I could get on with life in a way that I hoped he would have wanted me to."

She added: "Philip was a very positive person. I feel that living with him taught me how to live without him. Every Christmas, I post the same message on my social media pages, marking the number of years since his passing. Alongside a photo of Philip, I write, ‘I’m thankful for the memories. Thankful for the inspiration to live life to the full. Thankful for the motivation to improve cancer outcomes for cancer patients and their families'."

Sue's dedicated campaign for prostate cancer awareness also brought her fresh romance. She encountered her current husband Patrick McGuire, who had lost his wife to bowel cancer, through her cancer research advocacy efforts and the pair subsequently wed in 2016.

She remains resolute in her battle against the illness that took both their loved ones from them. She continued: "I am so proud of how taking abiraterone changed Philip's life so positively and that by participating in the clinical trial, he has contributed to making a positive impact for other men and their families.

"I feel so passionate about abiraterone – it gave us almost an extra year of quality time together, which we made the most of with family and friends. When a drug has such an impact on a patient's life, it's not just that person that benefits, but their family and friends too.

"I'm really aware of the importance of research and how it can benefit individuals, and it is wonderful to think that Philip's legacy is helping other men and their families get access to abiraterone,".

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research are working to help every man with prostate cancer live longer, healthier lives. Find out more here: ICR.ac.uk/ProstateCancerAppeal