A YOUNG dad who is battling a rare form of cancer has been offered a ray of hope after finding a potentially life-saving stem cell donor.

In May 2018, Tom Cameron was given the devastating news that he had stage four Primary Mediastinal B Cell Lymphoma, just 10 weeks after the birth of his first child.

The 31-year-old has since undergone various types of chemotherapy as well as revolutionary CAR-T Therapy ­— all of which have failed to kick the cancer.

Mr Cameron, who was born and raised in Ramsbottom and moved to Dorset seven years ago, where he lives with his wife Chloe and baby Otto, previously told the Bury Times that the disease had turned his and his family’s lives upside down, adding: “In just 18 months I had had to look at wills, plan my funeral and look at burial grounds.”

For the last few months Mr Cameron has been undergoing an immunotherapy drug treatment which has kept the cancer at bay.

However, the treatment is not available on the NHS meaning he has to self-fund at a staggering cost of £3,558 per three-weekly infusion.

Tragically his recovery is also not predicated to last, and doctors say that drug will give Mr Cameron around a year and half before the cancer returns.

Instead he was told that finding a stem cell donor could be his last chance for survival.

Initially Mr Cameron had been looking to relatives for a donor, including his brother who is a “50:50 match”.

But just as time seemed to be running out, out of the blue, an American donor came forward.

Mr Cameron said: “It was such a massive relief because you are always just waiting for the cancer to return.

“It felt really unnerving and time pressured. You are always looking over your shoulder and thinking what’s going to come first the donor or the disease.”

Last week Mr Cameron started an eight-day course of chemotherapy before the donor stem cells are infused when they arrive from the USA.

He will spend around six weeks in hospital and then require check-ups and blood tests every two to three days to monitor his condition after he is discharged.

However, it usually takes around 100 days after a stem cell transplant to discover if it has been successful.

Mr Cameron said: “I have been feeling good so I just want to crack on with it, but it’s going to be a long old recovery."

He also encouraged as many people as possible, under the age of 45, to register to become a stem cell donor in order to save lives. He said: “By registering to donate your are potentially saving lives with only a few simply health checks. To able to do that for someone is just incredible.”

To follow Mr Cameron’s story and campaign and donate visit his Instagram @Cammers4 and gofundme.com/f/support-tom-in-his-journey-with-lymphoma. For more information about registering as a stem cell donor visit anthonynolan.org if you are aged 18 to 30, or dkms.org.uk/en.