Grandad

Craig Shore has a dream. To take his grandson Archie to watch Manchester City play. But first he has to face a fight which hundreds of family, friends, and complete strangers are helping him win.

Since December they have helped him raise the lion's share of £80,000 for two courses of treatment at The Christie Hospital in Withington. The treatment, is working for Craig, 52, but he needs a third session.

The Manchester University engineer from Glossop, was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer, for which standard chemotherapy has just an eight per cent chance of success. But the specialised treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which develops guidance about procedures for the health service, is not being funded by the NHS.

His ordeal began when his vision became cloudy and after multiple tests Craig was sent to St Paul's Eye Unit in Liverpool in mid-2021. There, he was given the devastatng diagnosis - uveal melanoma, a rare type of cancer occurring in the tissues of the eye.

Around 750 cases of ocular – or uveal – melanoma are diagnosed in the UK every year and around 50 per cent of these lead to a secondary cancer, known as metastases. This occurs in the liver in more than 85 per cent of patients, but limited treatment options available on the NHS mean just 10 per cent to 25 per cent survive for a year after their diagnosis.

Craig's eye was taken out and markers were placed on the back of his eye to track the cancer. He then began a course of proton beam therapy at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in the Wirral.

His family, including Craig's partner Michelle, his two stepchildren and his 10-month-old grandson, Archie, were overjoyed in July 2023 when he got the all