Let’s band together and defy this awful disease, says Craig
CANCER SURVIVOR WITH SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR IS
ADAD who married the love of his life only weeks after being diagnosed with a rare cancer has been chosen as the face of a new campaign designed to save lives.
Craig Speirs brought his dream wedding day forward by a year after tests revealed tumours in his liver.
Now he’s teamed up with his wife Angela and children, Rhianne, eight, and Adam, one, to launch World Cancer Day in Scotland.
The family are urging Scots to wear a Unity band with pride. The bands, available for a suggested donation of £2, feature a classic reef knot design to symbolise the strength of people coming together to unite against cancer.
Available in three different colours – pink, navy and blue – the bands can be worn in memory of a loved one, to celebrate people who’ve overcome the disease or in support of those going through treatment.
Craig, 37, said: “I’ll keep on fighting and I’m determined to do everything I can to help other people suffering from his horrible disease.
“I have so much to live for. I want to see my son start school and walk my daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. I’d like to dance with my wife on our silver wedding anniversary and read stories to my grandchildren.
“There is life after cancer today thanks to research and thanks to scientists developing better treatments for the disease. Just by wearing a Unity band, everyone can help make a real difference to people with cancer.”
That’s why Craig, of Elderslie near Paisley, is highlighting Cancer Research UK’s Unity bands for World Cancer Day which is Sunday February 4. Every day, around 87 people are diagnosed with cancer in Scotland, so by wearing a Unity Band, people can show solidarity with those affected by the disease.
It means raising money for more research, more treatments and more cures which help give people more precious time doing the things they love.
After a career as a Royal Engineer in the army, Craig was a busy security company manager when he first developed symptoms including abdominal pain, hot flushes and diarrhoea in 2010.
But after dozens of visits to his GP it wasn’t until October 2013 that tests at the Royal Alexandra hospital in Paisley finally revealed cancer.
Craig said: “It was horrific as I’d gone along to the hospital on my own.
“The doctor drew a stick figure with some organs on it and said, ‘Mr Speirs, you have carcinoid tumours. I asked, “Are you telling me I have cancer?”
He said, “Yes”. My next question was, “Is it curable?”
He said, “It’s treatable but not curable.”
“I felt overwhelmed and just needed to go home to speak to my family. Angela and I had already set a date in to get married in the summer of 2015 but suddenly I felt like I was in a race against time. It was autumn 2013 and I was in shock. I was scared I may only have months to live. We cancelled the summer wedding and instead turned all the new wedding arrangements around in just 12 weeks.”
It was an emotional moment when Craig and Angela married at the Beardmore Hotel, Clydebank on February 15 2014. Their daughter Rhianne was a flower girl and around 70 guests watched the couple exchange