THE FAMILY of a Ryde man who is battling an aggressive brain tumour is issuing a call to arms for Isle of Wight residents to join them and Stand Up To Cancer as they help launch this year’s campaign.

Simon Mayne was told he may only have 12 months to live after being diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma in March this year.

The 57-year-old father-of-four and grandfather-of-seven had gone to see his doctor after suffering a loss of peripheral vision and recurring headaches that wouldn’t ease with painkillers. He then underwent surgery and is having ongoing cycles of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The news devastated his wife Cherie and their children who are now living in hope that Simon – who runs a fuel treatment business called Soltron IW Ltd in Southampton’s Shamrock Quay - will defy the odds and recover.

The family have also thrown their weight behind this year’s Stand Up To Cancer campaign – determined to raise awareness of the need for vital research into the disease so that other families don’t endure the same heartache.

Daughter Katie, 34, who lives in Portsmouth, said: “I will always remember the day my parents came back from seeing dad’s consultant at the hospital in Southampton. Mum said “dad’s very unwell - he might only have 12 months to live.

“I remember just feeling sick in my stomach and feeling very anxious. It was like an out of body experience and the next few days that passed were just on autopilot – I was numb.

“Dad was very calm - he’s that kind of man; very pragmatic. He was determined we could fight this and we would find a way”.

Katie, a trainee midwife and mum-of-two, said her father’s prognosis has had a devastating impact on the whole family including her sisters Victoria, 37, Harriet, 30, and brother Simon, 33.

She added: “Mum and Dad have brought the four of us up very well. He’s always been a hands-on, outdoors type and was a ship’s captain by trade. Together they have always encouraged us to live life to the full, to do everything we can.

“We all call him “Rescue One” – that’s his nickname because we have grown up knowing that wherever we are in the world, whatever trouble we might find ourselves in, he would come to our rescue. Now it’s the other way around and he is the one who needs saving.”

Katie and Simon have helped to launch this year’s Stand Up To Cancer campaign - a joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4. They are pictured posing with six wristbands on their arms to highlight the number of people who are diagnosed with cancer every hour in South East England.

Stand Up to Cancer raises money to speed up life-saving research and is supported by a host of celebrities including Davina McCall, Edith Bowman, Alan Carr, Joel Dommett and Kirsty Allsopp.

Katie added: “You never think this will happen to you – it’s always someone else’s family.

"But I have learnt that cancer doesn’t care who you are, what a wonderful father or grandfather you are, how old you are, how fit you are or how much money you have. It doesn’t discriminate.

“I would do anything to allow us more time together. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy and I am determined to do all I can to stop other families from experiencing the heartbreak of this awful diagnosis and the impact it has had on us as a family."

Stand Up To Cancer has raised £38 million since it was launched in the UK in 2012. The funding is used for clinical trials and projects which accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and tests, to help patients and ultimately save more lives.

This year, Stand Up To Cancer will culminate with a night of live TV on Channel 4, on Friday, October 26.