Friends of Leon Skapars, a 35-year-old father of three from Southport, are organising a 20-mile charity walk to raise funds for his treatment after he was diagnosed with an incurable, rare kidney cancer. Leon, a self-employed plasterer, has been told he has no more than three years to live and may not see his youngest son reach the age of five.
In March last year, Leon began experiencing blood in his urine, backache and flank pain. He visited Southport A&E and was told it was unlikely to be cancer due to his young age, and was given a leaflet for kidney stones. However, during a family holiday in August, his symptoms worsened, and a CT scan later revealed an 8cm tumour on his kidney.
Leon underwent surgery in September to remove his kidney and the tumour. Pathology results in November confirmed the most aggressive form of kidney cancer, sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma, at stage three, grade four. Despite starting immunotherapy in December, the cancer spread to both lungs and lymph nodes in his chest by April, making it stage four and incurable.
His partner, Crystal Duffey, 30, said: 'We've gone from planning our future to just trying to get more time, memories, birthdays and moments together. Leon just wants to live as long as possible to be there for his children.' The couple have three sons aged two, three and ten.
The NHS can now only offer a daily tablet to slow the disease, which may extend Leon's life by up to three years. The family have set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for additional treatment options. Friends will walk 20 miles from Southport Football Club to Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday, August 2, to support the cause.
