Warwickshire new father’s hope in cancer drug trial

Owen Murray and Laura Dear welcomed baby Luna in December

A father with terminal bowel cancer has secured a place on a drugs trial.

Owen Murray, from Warwickshire, was told by medics they were "out of options" to treat his illness just days after he and fiancée Laura Dear welcomed daughter Luna on 15 December.

But Mr Murray said he was determined to stay positive and was "not giving up" in his fight against cancer.

The pair are also planning to marry next month.

Mr Murray, 39, and Miss Dear, 37, met in October 2019 and got engaged shortly after Luna's birth.

Mr Murray, from Long Itchington, who was diagnosed with cancer in March 2020, said he is doing "pretty well".

Mr Murray was told his cancer was terminal a few days after his daughter's birth

"Considering I was told by my oncologist in December it was more likely I would have months rather than years, five months down the line I am feeling good," he said.

He is now taking part in an early stage chemotherapy drug trial in Oxford.

A scan on 27 May, he said, will show how the treatment is progressing, but said he has seen "small signs improvements in my symptoms".

More than £29,000 has been raised on an online fundraiser set up to help Mr Murray explore treatment options.

He said the response had been "overwhelming".

"If this latest [treatment] isn't successful, there are other back up plans which could involve travelling to other countries and much larger medical bills, so to have that means there is a second option," he said.

The couple are planning to marry on 17 May

Mr Murray and Miss Dear are set to get married, under current Covid-19 restrictions, on 17 May.

"Even with eight people it will be the biggest gathering we have had with anyone for well over a year and for some of them it will be the first time they will meet baby Luna, so it should be a really nice day," he said.