Ewan Jeanes was diagnosed with testicular cancer in February 2024 when he was 16.  

After two years of showing great strength, determination and positivity, Ewan tragically lost his fight for life on February 6 at the age of just 18.

Ewan had an operation to remove a lump, and was doing well, until medics discovered a month later that he had germ cell cancer, which had spread to other parts of his body.

Ewan Jeanes was diagnosed with testicular cancer when he was just 16. (Image: Jamie-Leigh Allan)

In the days following his death, Ewan’s close friends set up a fundraiser in his memory to help his family and to provide some comfort in extremely difficult times.

One of his close friends, Jamie-Leigh Allan, said: “In his own words, Ewan said ‘I can beat cancer 10 times but it only has to beat me once – I’m not scared to die’.”

Doctors discovered Ewan had germ cell cancer after scans revealed the illness had spread to his abdomen.

Ewan with his sister Lucy and brother Adam (Image: Jamie-Leigh Allan)

In March 2024, he began a 12-week course of chemotherapy at the Beatson, just two months before he started a social sciences and criminology course at college.

But in August that year, tests revealed that his cancer markers had started to increase, and that November he endured his second 12-week round of chemotherapy before spending Christmas at home.  

Doctors harvested Ewan’s stem cells in December 2024, and in June last year, he started receiving chemotherapy as an outpatient one day a week.

Tragically, just a couple of months later, Ewan learned that the cancer was not responding to treatment.

Scans confirmed that the illness had spread to his liver, neck, and stomach, and doctors told Ewan and his family that the teenager only had a 10 per cent chance of survival.

The brave young man continued to fight and received further high doses of chemotherapy, as well as undergoing a stem cell transplant.

In November 2025, Ewan learned that his cancer was incurable and was placed on the waiting list for a clinical trial, as no other treatment was available.

At the start of this year, Ewan told his brother that he would probably be too unwell to attend his stag do in March, and said attending the wedding in June would be unrealistic for him.

Just weeks later, on February 3, Ewan learned that he had only days left to live, and tragically he passed away only three days later.

A fundraiser set up in his memory by Jamie-Leigh has already raised more than £3,200 for his family.

Those who would like to donate should visit www.gofundme.com/f/ewan-jeans.

Jamie-Leigh said the former Inverclyde Academy pupil loved gaming and loved his family, and said he always had a positive outlook on life, even on his darkest days.

She has thanked everyone who has donated to the fundraiser so far.

By Tuesday afternoon the appeal was less than £100 shot of its target of £3,500.

Jamie-Leigh added: “Ewan was a funny, witty, and outgoing person.

“He was very family-oriented; they were closer than most families and were all like best friends.

“He enjoyed time with his brother and sister.

“Even when the cancer had spread to other areas of his body, Ewan stayed positive and was full of life, still cracking jokes, still making plans, not letting it get him down.

“He was never a negative boy and was always positive, even with everything he was going through.”

Ewan’s funeral will be held at Greenock Crematorium at 2pm on Friday, February 20 at 2pm.