Nine inspiring tweets from brave Steve Evans
As the cancer that would eventually claim his life began to do its wicked work, Steve Evans reached out to the world on Twitter.
Last April, he joined up to the social networking site and began to document not only his treatment but his rise as a media darling.
But more importantly, he brought comfort and hope to thousands either going through similar times or trying to support loved ones.
Through Twitter, where he had 26,000 followers, Steve would chart his various treatments, his 'sexy' support stockings, his hope at being able to see Christmas and how he reconnected with old friends.
Steve had already been on the radio on Richard Bacon's show on Radio 5 Live and had contributed to the BBC's Breakfast programme talking about cancer.
His Twitter feed acts like a diary of his final months.
> To view some of his most poignant tweets, see below.
His first message was in April, which is particularly poignant given that Steve had not expected to survive much beyond the spring.
On April 10 he sent a message to Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin: "Recovering from chemo again at the min. Will keep in touch always happy to chat."
He soon began sharing his experiences with others, who drew strength in their own battles from him.
On May 16 @MichaelAshby108 tweeted Steve to say: "My partner had breast cancer at 32, she died but she felt it was the best thing that had happened to her and felt 'healed' by it."
Steve replied: "Hi Michael. I never cease to be amazed by people's stories. Your wife and her positive outlook must be admired."
Twitter provided regular updates of Steve's treatment and the optimism with which he faced each appointment.
On July 30 he wrote: "Scan results this afternoon. Always a nervous day when you have what I've got. No one's expecting bad news, I always expect it! We'll see."
Later he told his followers: "Scan results day is always stressful. But the news is good the tumour remains stable and so should give us more time making Christmas possible!"
And despite the problems he faced, Steve kept his sense of humour for the simple things in life. In August he wrote: "Wolverhampton weather update. It's cack! Who said twitter isn't useful :)"
But the same day he was offering comfort and support to others. He wrote to one person: "Sorry to hear about your mom. Feel free to message me. Our journeys aren't easy things to be positive about that's for sure."
He also got on with enjoying his time fishing.
"So fishing today. 10 per cent chance of rain but this is England so the brolly remains in the boot. Will let you know how I get on!" In September he began to tweet about the prospect of the 'end' not being far away, but was delighted whenever he was told he was well enough to go home rather than be in hospital.
"Finding the words to articulate how it feels are proving very tricky because it's no longer cancer I'm talking about it's preparing to die," he said.
He would rarely use the word 'die' or 'death', talking instead in more positive terms about a journey.
He also ended up having to miss celebrations for his 28th wedding anniversary with wife Septina and her birthday
"First day back home," he wrote. "It's our 28th wedding anniversary today and Sep's birthday. She's gone out with Megan and her mom to see the Lion King.
"I've stayed in due to being knackered although I plan to start eating a bit more once I get rid of the metal taste, from the radiotherapy."
He continued to keep his messages light and funny, even as things became more difficult.
On December 3 he wrote: "Currently, have a living room full of district nurses. It's a bit like a workshop with me as the subject, I think I should go back in!"
A few days later he said: "So we had visitors again today and I was very happy with that. One was a mate from school who I hadn't chatted to since 1992. I was buzzing."
As Christmas approached Steve was also honoured by the Magic Circle for his work as a magician.
On December 21 he wrote: "So after a hectic fortnight today I was told that I have been made a member of the Inner Magic Circle with a Gold Star!"
The updates on his condition continued, however, with a smile. "I have swollen feet due to fluid retention – very sexy," he said on December 23.
Being around for Christmas meant the world to the family man.
On Christmas Eve he said: "You know just how important family and friends are to us. This year due to Twitter the amount of love in our lives has grown considerably."
Steve began to ebb away over the weekend, having become too weak to write his own tweets.
He got his life-long friend John Price to write them for him.
On Sunday night, Steve told his followers: "What a wonderful couple of years these have been, made all the more enjoyable by you 'our extended family'."
His final message was a call for people on Twitter to send him some pictures to look at while he was in New Cross Hospital, where he was missing the chance to go fishing.
"Just look at the 'weather' and I'm stuck in here!" he wrote. "If you are on or near a fisheries today, better still are fishing yourself, send pic."
It fell to Steve's daughter Megan to use his account to report that he had passed away.
The message was retweeted hundreds of times and the tributes flooded in.
Steve took an unimaginably difficult journey. But he was never alone.
