A massive thank you

8:58am Thursday 9th August 2007

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A TERMINALLY ill man with just months to live has spoken of his gratitude to medical staff who have treated him during his 10-year fight against cancer and friends who set up a trust in his name as a lasting legacy.

Richie Keefe, 36, was just 27 when a biopsy revealed that a lump in his cheek was a rare form of head and neck cancer (mucoepidermoid carcinoma) that affects the salivary glands.

He had been married a year and his wife Jo was pregnant with Eleenor, now nine.

Since then, Richie, a former roofer, from Ensbury Park, Bournemouth, has undergone more than 30 operations including pioneering surgery to have his face rebuilt with bone and skin grafts after teeth and parts of his cheek, nasal cavity and neck were removed.

"For seven years after that I thought I'd beaten it and Jo and I were able to lead a reasonably normal life, enjoying watching our daughter grow up," says Richie. "Then two years ago I found another lump.

"I was so convinced it would be nothing after that long that I didn't even ask Jo to come with me to the hospital."

Instead, Richie was told that the cancer had returned and he needed another 15-hour operation followed by a week's recovery in intensive care.

Then in August last year tests revealed another tumour, this time pushing against the optic nerve, making it inoperable.

He has had more radiotherapy and chemotherapy but was recently told he has at most a few months to live.

Head and neck specialist Mr Velupillai Ilankovan, who has treated Richie at Poole Hospital over the past 10 years, confirmed that the condition was extremely rare, especially for someone of Richie's age, and paid tribute to the way the couple have handled the illness.

He said: "Their bravery and positive approach, and the way they have supported each other, is an example for all of us. Being a cancer surgeon is not an easy task emotionally, but people like Jo and Richard have helped us in that way enormously."

Friends, including local businessmen, rallied round to organise a ball at Bournemouth's Pavilion this June, where Richie and his family were the guests of honour.

Ticket sales and an auction raised £120,000 for The Richie Keefe Life and Soul Trust, which will go towards helping local families needing help after a bereavement due to cancer, and Richie has been assured that his wife and daughter will be among the first beneficiaries.

"The hardest part is knowing I won't see my little girl grow up, although I am incredibly grateful for the efforts of everyone at Poole Hospital, particularly my consultant Mr Ilankovan, as it is down to them that I've been around this long," says Richie.

Jo, 34, currently on leave from her job at Marks & Spencer in Bournemouth's Commercial Road, added: "We have always been honest with Eleenor about what is happening to Daddy, and when Richie was offered a second course of chemotherapy this summer we sat down as a family to discuss it.

"As it was unlikely to provide any real hope of prolonging his life significantly we felt it was best to make the most of the time we have left."

Construction company manager Danny McClafferty, a Trust founder and a close friend of Richie's, said it had been named the Life and Soul Trust because Richie has always been the life and soul of everything he's been involved in.

"Just before his last big operation, I asked if there was anything I could do, and he said his only concern was that his girls were looked after.

"That's what we hope the Trust will do, along with other families in their situation."

Another ball is planned for summer 2008, and on November 15 this year a fundraising hair and fashion event is being held at The Opera House in Bournemouth with local companies, including Level Hairdressing and Richmond Classics, lending support.

Richie's 37th birthday is also that month.

"I'd love to think I'd be around but know it's pretty unlikely," says Richie, who has already picked his burial plot and written birthday cards for his daughter for every year until she turns 21.

"Being at the ball was an amazing experience and having something set up in my name that will go on helping others after I've gone is a wonderful gesture.

"I want to say a massive 'thank you' to everyone involved."

• For more information on the Richie Keefe Life and Soul Trust and details of how to buy tickets for events visit richiekeefelifeandsoultrust.co.uk or email info@richiekeefelifeandsoultrust.co.uk