A FORMER Ramsbottom man has thanked friends and family back home for supporting him in his battle against skin cancer.

Stuart Tanner, who grew up in the town but now lives in the US, was diagnosed with stage four melanoma at the end of June and was forced to set up an online appeal to raise £6,000 to cover treatment costs.

Upon hearing the news, loved ones rallied round to help the 42-year-old reach his target, and after just two weeks of taking chemotherapy drugs, he says he is on the mend.

“It was a big shock,” said Mr Tanner. “When I was first diagnosed, they gave me a month to live.

“The doctors said it was one of the most serious cancers they had ever come across.

“It was so serious that my parents dropped everything and flew over as fast as they could.

“Friends, family, ex-colleagues, pretty much everyone donated money to help. Most of the donations came from back home.”

Mr Tanner attended St Joseph’s RC Primary and St Gabriel’s RC High School before going on to study computing technology at Bolton University.

After meeting his American wife Jennifer online, the pair left the UK in 2013 when Jennifer’s visa expired.

They first settled in Tbilisi in Georgia, and later in the US.

The couple now live in Sturtevant, a village in Wisconsin, but their world came crashing down following Mr Tanner’s diagnosis six weeks ago.

After raising the necessary funds in just two days, Mr Tanner began his treatment in early July, and so far it has proved successful with the cancer almost having left his body.

He will continue taking the treatments while visiting an oncologist once a month to be monitored, however, he says is keen to get back to work.

“I am a lot better than I was,” said Mr Tanner. “My biggest concern is that I do not know when I will be able to go back to work.

“The doctors are not satisfied enough for me to go back.

“Because I have been out of the UK for more than six months, I do not qualify for any benefits, and because I have not been living in the US for five years, I do not qualify for any here either. I fall between the cracks.”