‘Maggie’s has been a fantastic support in my fight’

THE past six years have been turbulent, to say the least, for 75-year-old Ray Wilkie.

Ray, from Tayport, was diagnosed with melanoma in 2014 after his wife noticed a mole on his neck that she didn’t like the look of.

After a series of surgeries at Ninewells Hospital, Ray and his wife, Celia, thought that was the end of it so they got on with their lives and embarked on a world cruise.

Upon returning from his travels, Ray learned the cancer had come back and had spread from his neck, through his lymph nodes to his lungs.

It was 2016 and he was now living with advanced melanoma and lung metastasis.

The doctor who treated Ray told him he was unable to do anything to stop the spread of cancer but a colleague was experimenting with immunotherapy.

His case was put before a panel who decided to press ahead with the treatment and shortly after he started attending Ninewells every three weeks for two years.

“I had no real side-effects to the treatment but I’d had enough of going to hospital and I just wanted to get my life back,” said Ray.

“I remember thinking ‘if it’s short, that’s OK.’ Those weeks would involve blood tests one day, a phone interview the next and treatment the third day. It wasn’t just a quick visit to Ninewells.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has left Ray and his wife “concerned” for all of those who have been affected by the outbreak.

Two years after starting immunotherapy, there were no signs of any growth to his tumours and, to all intents and purposes, they had all but disappeared.

“I’d been reading about other patients in the world who had stopped after two years,” said Ray.

“I discussed it with my oncologist, who left it to my wife and I to make the decision. I stopped and I’ve been fine ever since.

“I feel amazing – it really has been incredible. It’s a fantastic turnaround for a melanoma patient.

“You’re always worried that it’s going to come back but that’s just something in the background.”

Ray’s path to today’s happiness has been one that wouldn’t have existed without the unwavering support of Maggie’s Dundee

– who went above and beyond to ensure he was able to find peace when he needed it most.

“I was in and out of Ninewells for the first two years of my illness and I would pass Maggie’s on my walking route through the grounds,” said Ray.

“But when the skin cancer specialist said there wasn’t any more he could do, I remember

Ray Wilkie and his wife Celia.