A dying father is in a race against time for treatment which could give him the hope of watching his baby daughter growing up.

Today, The Argus launches an urgent appeal to help fund the medical care Neil Cooper needs to spend more precious time with his wife Wendy, 32, and his six-month-old daughter Caitlin.

He has a chance of enjoying many more moments with his family and his baby girl - seeing her first steps and hearing her first words - but not without medication which the NHS cannot provide because it is still on trial in the UK.

Mr Cooper has an untreatable form of cancer affecting his lungs and kidneys and was told in January he only had two months to live. Normal chemotherapy has not worked for 33-year-old Mr Cooper as his cancer is too advanced.

But the latest treatment on trial is expensive, with each three-week session costing about £10,000.

The Argus has established the Neil Cooper Appeal to raise funds and calls on readers to help any way they can.

There is no guarantee the treatment will work but there is a good chance it would prolong Mr Cooper's life by several months or possibly more.

It may help stabilise Mr Cooper's condition for long enough until more research and treatments are developed in the future that may help him. And every single day is precious for Mr Cooper, whatever time he has left, because every extra day means more time with his daughter Caitlin and wife Wendy.

Like any doting father he wants to see his daughter grow into a healthy, happy and successful woman. He wants to see her take her first step and listen to her calling him daddy for the first time.

He wants to be there on her first day of school, there to nag her to do her homework and to vet her first serious boyfriend.

He wants to proudly give her away at her wedding.

But as he cradles his daughter in his arms at the quiet family home in Portslade, he reflects on the irony that instead of celebrating life with his daughter, he faces an uncertain future.

He said: "Last year, we were looking forward to Caitlin being born and had so much to live for. We were happy and enjoying life to the full. Since the diagnosis we have had to take every day as it comes.

"Luckily Caitlin and her needs are focusing a lot of our attention and we are concentrating on her. She is a lovely, happy baby.

"She keeps me busy and on the go. You can't sit and think about it all the time. We just want to make the most of what we have left.

"That is why the treatment is so important. For Caitlin's sake, we want her to have had as much time with her father as we can."

Mr Cooper's older brother Warren, 34, is heading the campaign to raise money for his treatment. He said: "We don't know what is going to happen but we don't want him to lose out because we could not find the money to help him.

"We have managed to find enough money for the first batch of treatment but the money for next course is due in the middle of May and we don't know where that is going to come from at this point." Diagnosed Mr Cooper was diagnosed with a malignant mole on his back, known as a melanoma, six years ago. He said: "They did suggest the melanoma was caused by being out in the sun too much but to be honest I have never been much of a one for sunbathing. I think it was just a case of simple bad luck."

The cancerous mole was cut out and treated and last September he was given the all-clear after five years. But then his world collapsed around him.

After years of feeling fit and well with no major health problems apart from the melanoma, he fell violently ill last December.

Medics ran tests and just a few days before Christmas the couple were told he had suspected cancer.

In January, a consultant at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton confirmed the pair's worst fears. The cancer had spread inside his body to his adrenal glands and in the chest area. Without treatment Mr Cooper would be dead in two months and with chemo he might have a few more.

He was referred to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London where specialists tried chemotherapy. But after a couple of weeks it was clear the treatment was not working.

A clinical trial using a new form of treatment for Mr Cooper's cancer type was being run but he was two weeks too late to join up.

A consultant at St George's Hospital in Tooting said he could to replicate the trial but as one was being done for the NHS, this one would have to be paid for.

Mr Cooper, who had his 33rd birthday on Tuesday, goes for his first treatment today.

He has to take one tablet a day at home and then return to hospital every three weeks to have more drugs given intravenously. He will have a CT scan in a few weeks to see how the treatment is progressing.

The Argus hopes to raise as much money as possible through the Neil Cooper Appeal.

  • People can send cheques made payable to The Argus to: The Neil Cooper Appeal, Argus House, Crowhurst Road, Brighton BN1 8AR. Donations can also be made via credit card. More details are available from Argus Appeal co-ordinator Elsa Gillio on 01273 544465.