Scottish Catholic Observer

Marzena Asher said her husband Craig Asher was diagnosed with stomach cancer in August when their first child, Adam, was just a month old.

“He has a large tumour in the stomach and the cancer has spread to other areas of his abdomen,” she said. “The family was told that it was inoperable and when Craig asked how long he had, he was told the devastating news of one year. Craig’s illness has brought a huge amount of fear and pain into our life.”

She said that options in Scotland for treatment were limited.

“With so much to fight for as a family we looked around for some other treatments,” she explained, “Immunology was the obvious answer and is considered the most cutting edge cancer treatment in the world. People can live for years or even be cured. But it is very expensive.”

Though not yet legal in the UK for treating cancers except skin cancer, it is legal in other countries. “After shopping around we found a private practice in Germany who offer both immunology and chemotherapy,” Mrs Asher explained. “If you take immunology abroad, the NHS is not allowed to offer you chemotherapy. So all Craig’s treatment has to take place in Germany. Furthermore, Craig can’t eat anymore and relies on food packs delivered to his body intravenously. Those are expensive, for each day we have to pay €93 (£79). The NHS refused to provide us with those packs. It is likely that all costs for treatment in Germany will be in excess of €100,000 (£84,694)”

To raise the money Mrs Asher has set up a JustGiving campaign which has already raised more than £6,000.

“I am determined to raise as much money as possible for my husband,” Mrs Asher said. “We have to try for Craig’s life, for our love and for our baby son Adam. Craig is a wonderful person and it’s very sad to think that his own son will not grow up with such an amazing daddy.”

Fr Jim Lawlor, parish priest at the Immaculate Conception, said the parish has been ‘praying hard for Craig and his whole family.’

“Craig and Marzena are parishioners of ours and baby Adam was Baptised here recently,” he said. “Hopefully we can also offer some practical support as well.”

“It’s a really tough situation, very hard,” he added. “I’m sure people will want to help them.”

You can help Marzena, Craig and little Adam Asher by visiting: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/marzena-asher-2

—This story ran in full in the January 6 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.