After his death, he was posthumously recognised for his activism with awards, including being made an MBE and receiving an honorary doctorate from Coventry University.

Stephen Robert Sutton was born on 16 December 1994 in Burntwood,[2] where he attended Highfields Primary School and Chase Terrace Technology College.

[5] Doctors initially diagnosed him with constipation and prescribed laxatives, despite his father's insistence that there was a risk of colorectal cancer in the family; he was repeatedly told that teenagers were too young to have the illness.

[4] After his diagnosis, Sutton began participating in charity events with the Teenage Cancer Trust, and later started his own website and blog in January 2013.

During his fundraising campaign, Sutton was supported by several celebrities, most notably Jimmy Carr, Jonathan Ross and Jason Manford.

A further £1.2 million was put towards 50 care scholarships at Coventry University, and £700,000 invested in improving cancer awareness information and helping patients attend the charity's annual weekend conference.

On 10 July 2015 at Hibaldstow Airfield in Lincolnshire, 402 people made 403 tandem jumps of at least 10,000 feet in 24 hours for the Teenage Cancer Trust in his honour, breaking the previous record of 286.

[12] His mother, an official ambassador for the trust, also ran a marathon and in 2016 announced plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in her son's memory.

[1] In April 2013, Sutton met Kevin Spacey's filmmaker-in-residence Grigorij Richters while rehearsing as part of the drummer group for the opening ceremony of the 2013 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.

Besides making the documentary for Sutton, Richters and his team were tasked to rebrand his Facebook page and have been managing most of his media and backend.

He was watching the dress rehearsal from the stands with a constant smile on his face and told me: 'Don't worry, Julien: tomorrow I'll be there whatever it takes!'

I'm so proud to have met you and to have been even just a small part of your story".Following a lung collapse on 22 April 2014, Sutton was put on life-support but in a stable condition.

[7][22] His elder brother Chris wrote on Twitter: "I could sit here all day typing words like inspirational, proud, but frankly his life and what he achieved speaks for itself, it doesn't need a rambling eulogy from me.

[17] Around 11,000 people attended his vigil, with the Cathedral's Dean, Adrian Dorber, telling the BBC that the degree of public grief was akin to that of the death of Princess Diana.

[26] Sutton was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours[27][28] "for services to Teenage Cancer Trust Charity"; the award was dated 14 May.

[29] His mother, Jane, said that "though Stephen continually told all of us that he didn't do charity work for recognition, even he acknowledged that to be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire was awesome".

[31] On 11 November 2014 Coventry University announced that it would posthumously award Sutton with an Honorary Doctorate of Science, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to highlighting the unique needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer.

[36] The Neon Brotherhood recorded a single titled "Hope Ain't a Bad Thing" as a fundraiser for Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of Sutton.

[38] After working with Sutton, local community organisation Gig Caritas announced that they would hold a concert in memory of him in Dudley, featuring West End stars Kieran Brown, Sabrina Aloueche and Katie Bernstein accompanied by a professional orchestra and choir made up of members from In Sound Company and Brierley Hill Musical Theatre Company.