Almost £12,000 has been raised in one week for an Ellesmere Port dad battling terminal cancer.
Bill Brennan, 52, has been given six months to live after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in August.
He is hoping to raise £40,000 to cross the German border to receive one cycle of immunotherapy - a potentially life-saving treatment which is unavailable to him on the NHS.
In trials with skin cancer patients, the treatment is believed to have reduced the most aggressive and deadly type in 69 per cent of patients.
The grandfather to Katie-Mai, 6 and twins, Jasmine and Jessica, 4, began chemotherapy on the NHS earlier this month, but doctors have confirmed the treatment will never cure the cancer.
Desperate to save her dad’s life, Bill’s daughter, Claire Brennan, who lives in Chester , launched a JustGiving page on Monday, October 10, which has raised a total of £11,909 so far.
Claire told The Chronicle the support has been ‘overwhelming’ for the whole family.
“It’s absolutely amazing, it feels a bit surreal - I have to keep pinching myself,” she said.
“We are absolutely blown away by the amount we have raised so far - we never expected to raise so much money in such a short space of time.
“All the support has given us much more hope and it’s really picked him [Bill] up.
“It’s brought out a fight in him we didn't know he had.”
Bill is hoping to raise the money as quickly as possible before the cancer deteriorates.
Claire added: “They’ve only given him six months to live, so the sooner we can raise the money and start the treatment, the better.
“We had our first bag packing event at Morrisons on Sunday [October 16] and raised more than £1,000 in a day which was unbelievable.
“We’ve also organised a children’s Halloween party at the Wheatsheaf in Mollington on the 31st October and we also have a big charity night on the 19th November at the Whitby Sports and Social Club.
“We would like to thank everyone who has helped us organise the events.”
Claire said an article published by The Chronicle on Monday (October 17), highlighting Bill’s story, reached the attention of some of his old work friends.
“An old friend of my dad’s who used to work with him at Vauxhall got straight on his bike after reading the story and peddled to his house,” she said.
“My dad hadn’t seen him for years and they caught up over a brew for hours which really took his mind off things - it was really nice to see.”
She added: “If we are unable to raise all the funds we need, we will ensure that every single penny raised goes into research so others don’t have to suffer like my dad.”
To donate, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GetBillBetter .
More information can be found on the ‘Get Bill Better’ Facebook page.
