Jeremy Hunt’s brother, Charlie, dies of cancer aged 53 | Cancer

The younger brother of the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has died aged 53 after being diagnosed with cancer three years ago.

Charlie Hunt discovered he had sarcoma, an aggressive and rare type of cancer that typically begins in the bones or soft tissue, in 2020.

Hunt and his brother ran the London Marathon last October to raise money for Sarcoma UK and the Royal Surrey Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre, a new facility being built in Guildford.

The chancellor, 56, spoke last month about how the disease had affected several family members.

His father, Sir Nicholas Hunt, died in 2013 aged 82, while his mother, Lady Meriel Hunt, died aged 84 last year, both due to cancer.

The former health secretary and foreign secretary said he was diagnosed with cancer himself but it was caught early after he discovered a mole on his head. He said the disease had been “life-changing” for his family.

The chancellor told the Daily Mail: “I had a mole in my head that just grew and grew.

“I was a cabinet minister at the time, not in my current job, but it was obviously the first time that the ‘C word’ had been used in terms of my own health so that makes you sit up.

“But I was blessed. It was not a life-threatening cancer and it was caught relatively early.

“I had superb treatment from the NHS to remove it, but I am very aware of members of my own family who have had much tougher battles against cancer, and I know that’s what families are going through up and down the country.”

There were 288,753 new cancer diagnoses in 2020, 38,421 fewer than 2019, according to NHS statistics published last year.