A Glasgow dad has been given a shock cancer diagnosis after struggling to swallow his food.
Donald Stewart was eating a takeaway on his break at work when he realised food was getting stuck in his throat last October.
The 44-year-old noticed the problem gradually getting worse and was eventually only able to eat soft or mashed foods.
To his shock, Donald was diagnosed with stage three oesophageal cancer in January and is now undergoing gruelling treatment to prolong his life.
The dad-of-two told the Record: "The doctors told me it was serious as soon as they checked my throat with a camera.
"They didn't even need to do a biopsy. I was told I needed to prepare myself.
"There's a 20 per cent chance that patients with oesophageal cancer survive past five years and it's inoperable.
Medics found a 20cm tumour in Donald's food pipe - and cancer had already spread to two lymph nodes.
Donald was fitted with a feeding machine that fills his stomach - and has been unable to swallow food for five months.
He is now undergoing a series of four rounds of chemotherapy, as well as one round of radical radiotherapy.
"By October I should know if the treatment has been successful and if not I'll move on to palliative care," Donald said.
"I have also sorts of tubes coming out of me and I'm now on a feeding machine for 12 hours a day
"I was struggling to get any food down so I quickly lost three stone by just drinking milkshakes.
"The feeding machine will be permanent as most likely my swallowing capacity won't come back.
"I'm at the stage where it's difficult to even get saliva down so I don't know what it's going to be like if my oesophagus completely closes due to scaring.
"If I ever get to eat again I would be willing to try anything."
A fundraiser has been set up in hopes that Donald might be able to take his daughters on a family holiday to create some lasting memories and plan for their financial future.
The dad added: "My eldest Sonni is 14 so I'm hoping that she will turn 16 before anything happens and she will be able to take on the house.
"If I could get a holiday with my daughters to make some memories it would be brilliant.
"Apart from trying to get thing in order, I'm trying to grab as much time with my children as I can.
"I've had to stop working and cancer is debilitating but I've come to peace with it now and I want to make sure my daughter's futures are as easy as possible.
"Cancer is a horrible disease that destroys people but I'm determined that I won't take my positivity."
If you would like to donate to Donald's fundraiser, please visit GoFundMe.
