"We have no choice but to unite against cancer'

MESSAGE OF MECHANIC WHO THOUGHT HE'D PULLED A MUSCLE PLAYING GOLF

- NEAL KEELING

A DAD put his back pain down to pulling a muscle playing golf - but the truth was far more devastating.

Lee Young, a mechanic, first went to see his GP who referred him for tests after he experienced pain. A biopsy revealed an 8.5cm-long tumour near his kidneys. Doctors struggled to find where the cancer had first started.

Lee, who lives with his wife Joanne in Denton, was then given the devastating blow that he could have less than a year to live.

Scientists in Manchester are now working on a groundbreaking new test which aims to unravel the enigma in detecting hidden tumours.

Described as a liquid biopsy, the blood test could offer hope for people like Lee diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) a cancer that has spread through the body but it's not clear where it started.

Lee had six rounds of chemotherapy as part of a clinical trial and a recent scan discovered that the tumour had reduced in size by half. The 58-year-old dad-of-two now receives immunotherapy every three weeks and continues to be monitored regularly.