Young Married Couple, Who Survived Respective Cancer Journeys, Met When They Were Teens: ‘We’ve Never Looked Back’

Liv Shaw says her husband, Sam, “can find laughter anytime and always knows how to lift my spirits and support me”

NEED TO KNOW

• Two-time cancer survivor Liv Shaw said she found lasting love with fellow two-time cancer survivor Sam, whom she met through a cancer charity when they were both teenagers
• Liv, who has Li-Fraumeni syndrome, was diagnosed with cancer at 14 and again when she was in college, per the BBC
• Sam “can find laughter anytime and always knows how to lift my spirits and support me,” said Liv

A woman who has survived cancer twice said she found love with a man who understands her journey better than almost anyone else could.

Liv Shaw, of Manchester, England, was born with a genetic condition called Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), which significantly increases the chances that a person will develop cancer in both childhood and adulthood, per the BBC.

According to the American Cancer Society, LFS is most commonly caused by an inherited mutation in the TP53 gene, which is a gene that suppresses tumors. It is hereditary and usually diagnosed through genetic testing.

Liv, 29, was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma at age 14, which resulted in the amputation of her right leg above the knee.

In 2020, while at university, she was diagnosed with cancer a second time when doctors discovered a lump after she broke a rib. She had the tumor removed and did not require further treatment.

Further testing revealed that Liv had LFS, and the operations manager decided to have both of her breasts removed to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer in 2023.

Throughout it all, Liv has had the love and support of her now husband — Sam, a fellow two-time cancer survivor whom she met when they were both teens volunteering at a charity called the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Liv recalled that she was drawn to Sam immediately.

“I initially met Sam at Teenage Cancer Trust’s Find Your Sense of Tumor conference when I was 16 and just remember how funny he was, and still is,” she said while speaking to the BBC.

The pair reconnected several years later while taking part in an additional Teenage Cancer Trust event.

“We were both involved in speaking about body image following treatment at the conference a few years later, and Sam got involved in a charity fashion show that I’d been involved in,” Liv recalled.

She said that they started dating during that time and “never looked back.”

“Sam has been an absolute rock throughout my second cancer diagnosis, and subsequent LFS diagnosis,” she added. “Sam can find laughter anytime and always knows how to lift my spirits and support me.”

The pair ultimately married in Las Vegas in 2025.

Liv went on to tell the BBC that she currently tries to live life as normally as possible.

“I stay positive and keep things as normal as I can,” she said. “But I’m only in my twenties and I’ve already been through two different cancers.”

She hopes sharing her experience will help draw attention to the need for more research into Li-Fraumeni syndrome, particularly treatments that could prevent cancer before it develops.

“My care is all about detecting cancer early, not preventing it in the first place,” she explained. “There’s no cure for LFS. People like me urgently need more, and less invasive, ways to help reduce our cancer risk. That’s why research is so vital along with the donations.”

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Liv said advocating for others living with the condition has given her renewed purpose.

“Using my voice to make a positive difference gives me strength and knowing that there could be a better outlook for people like me with LFS on the horizon spurs me on,” she told the BBC.

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