On behalf of the Varley and Coventry families, we are deeply saddened to share that our beautiful Kelly passed away on 29 November 2025. The support Kelly and her family received meant so much to her, allowing access to further treatment options, giving her hope and reminding her of how deeply she was loved, and always will be.
Her family are so grateful for the incredible kindness shown through so many initiatives and messages from around the world. In honour of that global support, please join us for a celebration of her life which will be livestreamed on Sunday, 7 December at 3:00 PM (GMT+2): https://www.youtube.com/live/7pn9f_k7Cmc.
This is Kelly: a mother, daughter, sister, wife, and everyone’s friend. She spent her life giving far more than she ever received—raising money for orphans, vulnerable women, and animals, or simply noticing someone’s sadness and dropping off a tupperware of soup. If you gathered all the hearts in the room, Kelly’s heart would still be the biggest.
On October 10th, 2023, Kelly was diagnosed with stage 3Cb cervical cancer. After enduring two rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and brachytherapy and exhausting her private insurance, only to learn that her cancer was treatment-resistant and the tumor had doubled in size. Kelly reached a point where she was in agony and had lost her appetite. A doctor said that her last chance was immunotherapy (Keytruda), and if there was no response, worst case scenario, she had just weeks left to live. The family managed to source the first dose of the immunotherapy at a very high cost, and by some miracle, Kelly sprang back to life. The immunotherapy works, and Kelly is improving every day.
The cost of this medicine is $4,000 every three weeks for two years. While we feel it’s a small price to pay for Kelly’s life, it is completely unsustainable for a family to manage on their own.
This is Leon, 71 years old: Kelly’s father and a walking safari guide in Africa. When he had kids, life became a little more expensive, and he had to walk more. When the kids went to school, life became even more expensive, and he had to walk a little more. When Kelly was told she had treatment-resistant cancer and the only hope was to receive immunotherapy at the cost of $4,000 every three weeks, the family panicked. But Leon knew he just had to walk much, much more—the ultimate walk - The Pacific Crest, from Mexico to Canada. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is approximately 4,265 kilometers (2,650 miles) long. It stretches from the Mexican border in California to the Canadian border in Washington, traversing through diverse landscapes including deserts, mountains, and forests. Leon started the PCT on 14th of March 2025 to raise money for Kelly’s immunotherapy treatment.
Please support Kelly in her cancer journey and Leon on his sponsored walk raising funds for his daughter's life-saving treatment. Kelly means everything to us - her children, her family, and her friends and we will do anything to keep her here a little longer.
Thanks for taking the time to read this far - any contribution will be greatly appreciated.
My name is Sarah Davidson, and I have had the privilege of being friends with Kelly and the Varley family since our school days in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Kelly is a kind, strong, and wonderful person who is now facing an incredibly difficult battle with cancer. The funds received through this UK based fundraiser come to me initially and every cent is then transfered to her mom, Mags, in Zimbabwe and is used to help cover the cost of her immunotherapy, essential treatments, scans, and tests recommended by her oncologist.
The outpouring of support she has received is a true testament to the incredible person she is. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read her story, for your generosity, and for all the love and encouragement you are sending her way.
