Dumfries dad Richard Nelson cooked Christmas dinner for 11 of his family despite being told in January he could “die at any moment”.
It was a second “miracle” Christmas for Richard, 41, wife Claire, 37 and their children nine-year-old Killian and Aurora, six.
In August 2023, the Dumfries family were told that the head and neck cancer Richard had been diagnosed with was incurable.
He defied doctors predictions to spend last Christmas with his family.
But after another tumour appeared on Boxing Day next to a main artery, Richard was told “nothing else could be done” and he only had a couple of weeks left to live.
Richard and Claire refused to give up hope, and after fighting for more treatment, that they were told had only a 10 per cent chance of giving him an extra couple of months, scans have shown the disease is now too small to detect.
Richard credits Claire for refusing to give up hope in searching for a cure, saying she “saved my life”.
But she says his motto to just roll with the punches and keep going, keep fighting, is the reason he is still here today.
Claire said: “Richard was first diagnosed in 2021 and in August 2023 we were told the cancer was incurable and to do Christmas as soon as possible.
“The chemotherapy wasn’t working and neither was the immunotherapy treatment he was trying.
“He got through last Christmas, but on Boxing Day another tumour appeared next to a main artery.
“We were told in January nothing else could be done and all treatment would be stopping.
“It was horrendous.”
Claire refused to accept the prognosis and contacted a hospital in Birmingham that was offering cancer patients different treatment trials.
After a lot of “fake hope”, the couple were eventually contacted by Richard’s former oncologist at a Glasgow hospital.
Claire said: “Richard had been discharged from her care as there was no more treatment she could offer, but when she heard what we were going through she took him back on as her patient off her own back. She’s been our absolute hero. She contacted a professor at a clinic in London and Richard then started on a treatment called Cetuximab.
“We were warned there was only around a 10 per cent chance it could work for a couple of months.”
But scans in July miraculously showed Richard’s tumours were shrinking quickly and the disease was “too small” to detect.
Claire added: “Richard gets the treatment once a week and will continue to get it while it’s working.
“We want to give other people in this situation some hope, and also not to just accept it if they’re told nothing else can be done.
“It’s been a rollercoaster of a year but we’ve kept each other strong and Richard has always said he never felt like he was going to die.
“We believe in miracles and the magic in life and we have never stopped hoping for a cure.
“Our children have been our tiny heroes. They’ve been through so much seeing their daddy so poorly, but they have kept the house so full of love and laughter and have helped to keep us strong.
“We found our Christmas miracle last year, and we’re so grateful we’ve got another one this year.”
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