Matt Miles said it was ‘dramatically unfair’
A man whose wife died aged just 46 said she had only one symptom before she was diagnosed. Now, he is undertaking a series of challenges to raise funds for the “amazing” hospice that cared for her in her final days.
Matt Miles, 46, a police officer living in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said the only symptom his wife, Katy Miles, experienced before her low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (LGSOC) diagnosis – which the LGSOC Initiative says represents just 2% to 5% of ovarian cancers – was bladder control problems during a CrossFit class in 2016, when she was 37. Katy received treatment and was initially declared cancer-free, but by 2024 she discovered her cancer had spread and she entered end-of-life care provided by the charity Sue Ryder.
Now, Matt is paying tribute to his wife, who was also a police officer, by using her police collar number – 1481 – to complete challenges including a 1,481-mile row and 1,481 burpees, as well as hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. He will conclude the year-long fundraising campaign by running the London Marathon this Sunday, April 26.
Matt said: “It was dramatically unfair. To have this disease is one thing, but to have a rare disease – for someone of her age and fitness level – there was no rhyme or reason for it. Cancer doesn’t discriminate. If it gets you, it gets you.”
Matt and Katy first met in 2009 at work and began a relationship shortly afterwards, connecting over their shared passion for sport, particularly rugby and skiing. During a ski trip together in France in February 2012, Matt proposed to Katy, catching her off guard by skiing towards her wearing a tuxedo. The couple married on May 10, 2013.
Matt said: “I’m quite shy and introverted. She was very extroverted, so she was very good at filling the gaps.
“She had a very infectious laugh and a huge, beaming smile. You’d never hear a bad word said about her.”
Matt explained that Katy was always extremely fit and healthy and took “pride in her appearance”, so she “threw herself full throttle” into CrossFit. During one particular class in 2016, Katy was skipping when she felt the need to use the toilet.
Following this incident, Katy visited her GP, who arranged a scan that revealed an abnormality. Doctors initially suspected Katy had an ovarian cyst, and Matt recalled his wife being reassured at the time that “it’s not cancerous, don’t worry”. The lump underwent a biopsy and Katy was summoned to a medical centre in Cheltenham for the results on December 16, 2016.
Matt said a doctor informed them: “I can’t tell you the result because I’m not an oncologist, but you need to be aware that I expect this is going to be bad news.”
Matt recalled the moments immediately following the cancer diagnosis, saying: “I remember Katy had a yellow jumper on and blue jeans and we walked out into the corridor and went through a set of double doors. As soon as we went through those, she literally grabbed hold of me and her legs just buckled. Then she just burst into tears because she’d just been told that she had cancer.”
While it was initially uncertain whether the cancer was ovarian or bowel-related, it was subsequently confirmed that Katy had low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma — a rare subtype that develops more slowly than more common forms of ovarian cancer, but carries a survival rate of up to 10 years, according to NHS England. Katy underwent a bowel resection in November 2016 to remove trace cancer cells, followed by a further operation in August 2017, which Matt revealed unexpectedly lasted eight hours owing to “lesions found on the liver, kidney, bladder and stomach lining”.
Matt added: “The doctor referred to it as finding grains of sand and he was taking each one out.”
Katy also had a stoma bag fitted and a full hysterectomy, which Matt described as a “hugely impactful operation” that she “took in her stride”, before undergoing a round of “brutal” chemotherapy in a bid to “eradicate any cancer cells that were left”. By March, Matt said Katy was feeling much improved and had returned to the gym.
In May 2019, follow-up scans uncovered two small tumours that doctors described as “not causing any problems”, but the focus shifted towards managing and prolonging Katy’s quality of life rather than eliminating her cancer entirely. Over the following years, as cancer treatments advanced, Katy was able to try various medications, but eventually these ceased to be effective and her choices became increasingly limited.
By May 2024, Katy’s cancer had spread to her bones and skin, and she was devastated to receive an initial prognosis of roughly a year. She was also experiencing kidney complications, meaning she required a nephrostomy, a procedure whereby a catheter is inserted through the skin of the back into the kidney to drain urine directly into an external collecting bag.
“That was the most painful thing she had done,” Matt said. “That one really got to her, but she just took it all in her stride.”
It was at this point that Matt said Sue Ryder stepped in – when Katy was “exhausted”, she could visit the hospice for “respite”.
By early spring 2024, Katy’s quality of life had deteriorated to the point where Matt recalled her telling him: “I can’t do it any more. It’s too much.”
She was experiencing difficulties with the nephrostomies in her back, and while staff offered to replace them, Katy no longer had the strength to go through with it. Matt said Katy requested their removal, which was explained to her as a “peaceful way to end” her life.
“I can remember the doctor was crying and so was the nurse,” Matt said. “Everyone was in hysterics. She had these things taken out and she came back and she was beaming.”
Matt and Katy’s sister, Lucy, then took turns spending Katy’s final three weeks with her in the hospice before she passed away on September 24, 2024. Following Katy’s death, Matt expressed his desire to do something for the “amazing” charity that had meant so much to his wife.
Starting on Katy’s birthday on August 9, 2025, he set out on a series of challenges linked to Katy’s police collar number – 1481. These included 1,481 burpees, a 14.81-mile row and a 14.81km run to and from the Sue Ryder hospice where Katy spent her final weeks, as well as the charity’s cold water plunge known as the Big Dip challenge and Spain’s Camino de Santiago.
Having already smashed his initial fundraising target of £10,481, he has since raised the bar to £14,810. Matt will round off his fundraising efforts with the London Marathon on April 26, which he believes will be a “special day”.
Matt said: “I’ve got an embroidered patch of the 1481 that I’ll have on my Sue Ryder shirt and a little wooden cross that Katy had. When I have those moments where I don’t want to keep going, those will be the little things that will keep driving me.
“Katy will be at the forefront of my mind. She is the driving force behind it all.”
To donate to Matt’s fundraiser for Sue Ryder, visit his JustGiving page.
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