A SCOT is searching for one of the other 14 other people on earth who have been diagnosed with his form of rare cancer.

Two years ago Kevin O’Neil, 48, underwent surgery to remove a giant tumour from his shoulder the size of a 10 pound bowling ball, followed by 30 rounds of radiotherapy.

But miraculously Mr O'Neil, of Inverkeithing, Fife, is now looking forward to a second Christmas with his family that he thought he would never see.

He has now set up a One in Fifteen social media campaign to make contact with the others that have the rare form of cancer called malignant myopericytoma that nearly killed him and has just got a message from a man in California who says he is one of the 15 having been fighting the cancer for almost two years.

The Herald:

Source: Kevin O'Neill

Mr O'Neil is hoping his story and shared experience will help others with the rare condition.

Mr O'Neil explained: "Because it is so rare, there is not anyone who is an expert who you can actually talk to."

The life-saving operation at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary took ten hours and was Mr O'Neil's fifth major operation in as many years.

Doctors consulted specialists in the US, who confirmed that he was battling one of the rarest forms of cancer which usually causes benign tumours.

Two years after the operation, Mr O'Neil, from Inverkeithing who retired from his job as a union organiser on medical ground, is undergoing intensive radiotherapy treatment.

The father-of-three said: "Myself and my wife have a good laugh about it now, the size that it was, but it was agony carrying it."

The Herald:

"If I had refused the surgery it would have killed me.

"Because during the operation itself they took out the majority of my right ribs and quite a lot off my right shoulder, my chest was rebuilt as well," he said.

"As you can imagine it's quite a long recovery period."

The Herald:

He had a scare a couple of months ago when a build up of fluids appeared to be another tumour.

"I have been told that if I get a recurrence of a tumour in that area the best they can do for me is keep me comfortable," Kevin said.

"But you really just get on with it. A strong positive attitude helps me on a daily basis."