Friends pitch in campaign to raise £50,000 for ex-Portsmouth man needing potentially life-saving cancer treatment in Japan

Reece Payne says he has been astonished by the support he has received in a quest to raise £50,000 for the treatment, which is not on offer on the NHS.

Reece, 35, who lived in Portsmouth for years before moving to the Isle of Wight, was diagnosed with bowel cancer four years ago and has had to undergo a gruelling time of intensive chemotherapy and surgery to increase his chances of survival.

He is still undergoing chemotherapy, but the doctors have told him that it is not working as it should and that without any further treatment, he will have up to a year to live, leaving behind his beloved partner and two young daughters.

Reece is determined to not let it beat him, and has been speaking to professionals worldwide, which was when he stumbled across Adoptive Cell Therapy, which is targeted immunotherapy which will decrease the growth of the cancer.

Reece said: ‘It has been a hellish four years. It takes a lot away from you in terms of the ability to get around and do things, and it has definitely taken a toll on my body so it has been pretty tough.

‘I need this therapy so that I can still be here for my partner and my daughters.’

In order to get the treatment, Reece will have to travel to Japan for up to eight weeks and the struggle now is finding the money to send him over there.

He has raised £8,683 so is a long way from his goal but Steve Pratt, the owner of Denmead pub The Fox and Hounds, has decided to get involved and help the cause by hosting a tribute act night to raise money.

Steve has fundraised for other charities but this one is particularly close to his heart as he has known Reece since he was a teenager because Reece used to go to the Eden Bar, Petersfield, which Steve ran.

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He saw on Facebook that Reece was trying to raise money for his treatment and decided to host a Neil Diamond versus Michael Buble evening with all proceeds from the tickets going to Reece’s treatment.

Steve will be putting on his gladrags to perform to try and help his friend on December 17 from 7pm at his pub with tickets costing £6 each.

Steve said: ‘He is being very positive, he is a lovely lad, he was always well mannered and for this to take him is just awful.

‘It is a lot of money but it isn’t a lot of money when it could save his life, and this treatment is his last hope really so I had to help him in some way.’

A number of people have been fundraising including two of his friends who will be walking 220 miles across the South Downs National Park to raise money for him.

Reece added: ‘Since I started the fundraiser I have got so many people doing things and the support is absolutely amazing and my family and I can’t thank them enough because without them we could be looking at a very different situation.’

To donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/reecewpayne