Friends come together to raise money so dad with terminal cancer can have holiday with his son

Dave Hopwood with son Josh

Friends of Dave Hopwood are on a mission to raise money for him so he can have a few more adventures with his son.

Dave, from Wardle, was diagnosed with kidney cancer last week and was told by doctors that there is nothing they can do, his cancer is terminal.

Rick Attwood, a friend of Dave’s, said: “We decided to set up the page to raise money so that he can have some adventures with his son. Unfortunately the doctors can’t operate but they have said that they are going to look at treatment to try and prolong his life, so he has a bit more time with his son and family.”

Dave was also told that the cancer has spread to his lymphatic nodes.

Suzanne Kavanagh, who has known Dave for 17 years, described him as a “relaxed person, who would do anything for anyone; considerate with a great sense of humour.”

When Suzanne heard the news, she was devastated.

She said: “I was absolutely devastated. I moved to London 11 years ago and we have spoken on Facebook and things but when he told me the news, I was devastated and immediately thought about doing some fund raising.

“I wanted to raise some money to give him the chance to create some good memories for his son.”

A Go Fund Me Page has been set up for Dave and has so far raised over £1,385.

Suzanne added: “I am really pleased with the response. Within 24-48 hours we had hit £1,300 so that is brilliant. I feel like that will really help and will at least give him a holiday with his son.”

Rick added: “We originally set the total at £500 and within a few hours, it had already raised a few hundred pounds so it has really taken off.”

Rick, Suzanne and a few other friends have also organised a charity event at the Flying Horse on Sunday 3 May, which will include a raffle, auction, DJ and food.
A football themed event has also been organised as Dave was a keen footballer.

Rick added: “I have known him since we were about four or five years old and we always played football, so we have decided to get together and do a football themed fund raiser for him as well.”

Anyone wanting to donate money can do so by visiting:

http://www.gofundme.com/dave-josh-hopwood