Kate Granger dead: Campaigning doctor dies aged 34 after raising £250,000 for cancer charity

She campaigned for doctors to humanise their attitudes towards cancer patients while coping with the illness herself

Despite being diagnosed with cancer at 29, Dr Granger coped courageously with her illness and did everything from skydiving to qualifying as a consultant gerontologist (Press Association)

A terminally-ill doctor who spent the last five years campaigning to transform public attitudes to cancer has died.

Dr Kate Granger, 34, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2011 and dedicated her life to writing about her personal experiences of the NHS and campaigning for person-centred compassionate care.

After she found that many of her doctors did not introduce themselves and even avoided eye contact, Dr Granger was driven to helping others and launched a global campaign to urge medical staff to get to know their patients on a personal human level.

Last week she reached her fundraising target of £250,000 for the Yorkshire Cancer Centre.

Her husband Chris Pointon announced her death on social media. He said she had passed away peacefully & surrounded by loved ones on Saturday. ”RIP my soul mate & thank you. Love you forever,” he wrote.

“Her main passion in life was compassionate care for others, her passion was health care, and she always said the little things really matter”.

Dr Granger, who was from East Ardsley near Leeds, had been receiving care at St Gemma's Hospice in Leeds. Tributes for her have poured in on social media.

Dr Granger launched the “Hello my name is...” campaign after growing tired of overhearing herself referred to by the number of her hospital bed or simply “the girl with the cancer”. Most shockingly, her doctor failed to introduce himself or look her in the eye when she was informed her cancer had spread.

For this reason, throughout the course of her campaign work, she strived to show doctors what it was like to be on the receiving end of medical treatment and humanise the way they spoke to patients.

Dr Granger's campaign went on to win the support of more than 400,000 doctors, nurses, therapists and porters across 90 NHS organisations and the #hellomynameis Twitter hashtag has since been shared tens of millions of times and has also been adopted by the NHS.

Despite being diagnosed with cancer at 29, Dr Granger coped courageously with her illness and did everything from skydiving to qualifying as a consultant gerontologist in her final years.