A CAMPAIGN has been launched to help a seriously ill Greenock dad who suffered a heart attack and a stroke during treatment for stomach cancer.
John McGowan, 48, needs £5,000 every fortnight to pay for immunotherapy drug Nivolumab after being dealt the devastating news that two different types of chemotherapy he received have not worked.
The married dad-of-two was diagnosed with gastric cancer in January this year and was given two courses of chemo - each time causing a serious side-effect.
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The first course caused a heart attack and John suffered a stroke second time round, our sister title the Greenock Telegraph reports.
He was also admitted to hospital with sepsis.
Medics have now ruled out any further chemo and John's only option is to pay privately for expensive immunotherapy treatment because it is not yet licensed by the NHS for his form of cancer.
His wife, Karene, 46, said: "It's been an absolute nightmare for him.
"He's been positive all the way through despite all the setbacks. "I don't know how he's been so positive after everything he's been through.
"I think it's because he wants to be here for the kids."
The couple, who got married in July 2017, have been together for 19 years and have two sons, Daniel, who is 15, and 11-year-old Harry.
John, a trained chef, is originally from the east end of Greenock and Karene, who works in orthopaedics at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, grew up in Larkfield.
The immunotherapy drug, which wona Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, is widely used for other forms of the disease, such as lung cancer and melanoma, and is also the first line of treatment in America and Canada.
But it has not yet been licensed for use by the NHS to treat John's condition and the family have had no option but to try and pay for it privately. Karene said: "There's nothing at all we can say bad about the NHS and the staff. "Their support has been unbelievable.
"It's just unfortunate."
A massive fundraising campaign has been launched to help pay for John's treatment with a staggering £33,000 raised online via JustGiving and in private donations directly to the family.
Some of the money has already been used for the first two courses of treatment and, if successful, John will still need it every two weeks' to keep the cancer at bay.
Greenock DJs Andrew 'McD' McDermid and Scott 'Shady' McCready, who know John from their Rico's and Bay Hotel days, have teamed up for the first time in 25 years for a night of music and nostalgia in Cruden Hall on Friday November 9 in aid of John.
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McD said: "It's good to be able to do something to help John as he was one of the Bay and Rico's gang. "There's a whole group of his friends helping to organise this so we know it will be a fantastic night."
Karene said: "The support has been humbling. "It's definitely given all of us a lift."
For tickets to the 'All For One' Cruden Hall gig visit here and to donate to John's appeal, log on to the JustGiving page.
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