Bid to raise £50k for cancer fight

Stephen Lemon, who founded Rye Barbers, was diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal (bowel) cancer in January this year.

Stephen was told the disease had spread to his liver and doctors immediately started the father-of-three on a gruelling course of chemotherapy.

It is hoped the treatment will enable the cancer to become operable.

But with no guarantee the surgery will be available on the NHS, Stephen’s family is trying to raise £50,000 to fund the potentially life-saving treatment.

A JustGiving webpage has been set up by Stephen’s sister Debbie Baker.

She told the Observer: “Discovering that he has Stage 4 advanced colorectal cancer at the age of 37 years was devastating to Stephen and our family.

“Currently Stephen is going through treatment provided by the NHS so we are raising money for Stephen and any treatment that he will need in the future.

“Where time is of the essence, stepping outside of the NHS may be necessary and we want to be prepared to give him the best possible chance in his fight against cancer.”

Stephen was diagnosed with the disease while training for a charity boxing match to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

Since his diagnosis, the local community has rallied around Stephen, his wife Anita and their children Olivia, Joseph and Joshua.

So far almost 150 people have donated more than £5,000 via the JustGiving page.

And Debbie hopes that more people will be able to dig deep to help the popular businessman in his hour of need.

She said: “The response from our JustGiving page so far has been overwhelming and we would like to thank all those who have donated and shared the page.”

If you would like to donate, please visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Stevelemon.

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