Londoner beats ‘terminal’ cancer to win tech prize

A Londoner who was given just two weeks to live when she was diagnosed with leukaemia aged 13 has been named one of the UK’s top 50 emerging technology talents.

Charlotte Hutchinson, who works for IBM, has been named on TechWomen50’s list — which recognises talented females in the industry — almost a decade after getting the all-clear from an aggressive form of the disease.

Ms Hutchinson, now 24, was diagnosed after her sister spotted bruises on her legs. Days later, she was sick during a football match. She went to the doctors with her mother Pam, and was referred to the East Surrey Hospital where she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. She was given two weeks to live.

Ms Hutchinson, originally from Reigate, said: “I was aware of what was going on and had some comprehension that I had cancer. You hear that word and you know it is bad news.”

Her mother said she “felt sick and numb” on hearing the diagnosis. Ms Hutchinson was taken to The Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea and put on a Children with Cancer UK-funded chemotherapy trial. Over the next two years and seven months, she underwent chemotherapy and steroid treatment.

Ms Hutchinson was eventually given the “all clear” aged 15. However, the following year she was diagnosed with avascular necrosis, a bone condition caused by the steroids in her therapy. Despite her condition, she has taken part in several fundraising events for Children with Cancer UK and is organising a fundraiser to celebrate being cancer-free for 10 years.

Ms Hutchinson, whose role includes working on the technology systems at the Wimbledon Championships, was announced as a TechWomen50 winner last month. She said: “I feel like my diagnosis has made me the person I am and has made me work harder because of it.”