Gosport father of four creates GoFundMe to raise money for his funeral after being told he has 9 months to live

Iain Smith, 53, has organised a fundraiser to try and raise enough money to cover his own funeral so his children will not suffer financial pressure.

The Gosport dad of four boys was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in September 2018, but after going through gruelling treatment, he overcame the disease.

Still trying to recover from the first diagnosis of cancer, Iain began a course of strong antibiotics at the end of last year for, what the doctors thought, was a bad infection – but when the medication failed to work, the doctors did a CT scan and it showed the worst outcome possible.

Not only had the cancer come back, but this time it was more aggressive and had spread all over his body.

The doctors told him that there was nothing they could do apart from making him comfort and ensuring that his quality of life is as good as it can be.

Iain said: ‘This is the second time I have had cancer. The first time I had cancer, I managed to beat it but then I lost my wife – she was only 46 – to a cardiac arrest and I have had to bring my kids up on my own.

‘The cancer has spread everywhere and there is nothing they can do – I was sat with the doctor and I said about two years and they said ‘no nine months’, but I don’t feel like I’m dying but I probably don’t feel like that because I have this time now and I can raise the money for when I die.’

His son, Harry, who is 19, will be making sure that the funeral plans are carried out the way that his dad wants them to be and Iain said that ‘he is such a strong boy, he has a strong personality and he is dealing with it very well because we discussed it all.’

Iain’s wife died suddenly from a cardiac arrest a few years ago meaning he had to bring up his youngest two children alone and the family were not fully prepared financially and mentally to organise a funeral.

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He had a career as a taxi driver in and around Gosport for 26 years and was a well known person in Bridgemary, but the loss of his wife and his diagnosis forced him out of his job.

Since he found out that he is terminally ill and only has months left to live, he decided to try his best to take the burden off his children’s shoulders and organise his funeral in advance.

He set up a GoFundMe page last month and has managed to raise £700, but he is desperate to achieve his dying wish and reach his target of £4,000.

He said: ‘It has come back at an aggressive state and my oncologist basically said that if the chemotherapy was offered, which it wasn’t, it would do me more damage than good and it could kill me earlier so we are down the quality of life route.

‘I am devastated because I know I’m not going to be able to see grandchildren. It is a horrible feeling because I don’t feel as though I’m dying but I have seen my cancer on the scans and it is bad.

‘I won’t get to see my grandchildren but in a way I am at peace because I know that every one of my boys is doing something good with their lives so I am okay with that.

‘I think if they were younger it would be more devastating but they are all grown up, I have got a 21-year-old who works and lives in America, I have got a 20-year-old who is at university and I have got two of my boys here. Harry is self employed, he is a labourer and I have got Blane who is at college.’

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which is formed of blood vessels and glands that run throughout your body.

Treatments can be used on secondary cancers, however in a lot of cases, it cannot be cured and it has to be managed in order to keep the patient comfortable.

The 53-year-old not only has secondary cancer, but he also suffers from peripheral neuropathy, which causes nerve damage in his feet and legs, and Charcot foot, which means that he does not have an arch in his foot, all of which results in extreme pain.

He said: ‘I have got nerve damage in both of my feet and legs so my mobility is very restricted, I have had this for about two to three years and it is difficult to walk – the arch in my foot has also collapsed so the bottom of my foot is flat and it is really painful. My palliative care has provided me with morphine but there is only so much that can take the pain away.’

Iain said that he feels ‘very grateful’ that he has raised £700 so far and that he hopes he can get it closer to his target.

He said: ‘It is getting there and I am especially grateful to the people that don’t have a great deal of money. This has only really gone out to my friends and family. I can understand that people haven't got a lot of money and it is tight but anything will help. I get a lot of people saying if there is anything they do and if anyone who has said that has donated, then they are amazing.’

To donate to the fundraiser, click the link.