THURROCK residents are being asked to get behind a campaign to help a young borough family who are facing the challenge of overcoming a devastating cancer diagnosis.

Rhys Graham and his partner Leila from Chadwell St Mary, have three children - Ava (eight), Tommy (three) and Jude (four months) and they began the year looking forward to their 2023 autumn wedding.

Their future looked incredibly bright, having just moved into a new family home.

However, at the beginning of June, Rhys became ill with jaundice and spent a few days in hospital undergoing tests. A scan picked something up near the small intestine and a camera down his throat showed a mass. A biopsy resulted in a devastating diagnosis of the very rare ampullary cancer.

The disease manifests itself as less than one per cent of all cancers diagnosed. It is extremely rare and is usually only found in people over the age of 70.

Facing up to the challenge of battling this killer, surgery was scheduled for 10 August at The Royal London Hospital. Rhys underwent a very long operation, where the surgeon removed the head of the pancreas, most of the duodenum (a part of the small intestine), a portion of the bile duct and his gallbladder.

The operation was successful although complications can arise after surgery.

Rhys in hospital

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Doctors believe that Rhys has Lynch Syndrome as his father carried this mutating gene and passed away from bowel cancer a few years ago. Lynch Syndrome has a 50 per cent chance of being passed down from parents to children and Leila and Rhys' children now have the chance of carrying this gene.

Rhys needs time to recover and then have chemotherapy; and therefore, cannot work.

Leila has mostly been on maternity leave due to having their baby four months ago, and now she has to be Rhys' full-time carer as the recovery is quite long and severe.

Friends, family and residents in the area have rallied to support the family and are attempting to remove the burden of financial pressures during such a devastating time.

A fundraising page has been set up. You can donate at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/RhysGraham

In addition, a number of local fundraising events have been set up.

They include a race night at the Chadwell Arms and a clairvoyant evening at the same venue.

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