GoFundMe appeal set up to aid Longford father's cancer fight

Friends and family of thirty-eight-year-old Johnny Maguire are hoping to garner in excess of €50,000 in order to secure potentially life saving treatment at a Hope4Cancer Hospital in Playas de Tijuana in Mexico.

It comes after doctors diagnosed Johnny with an aggressive form of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma weeks after the former St Mel’s student believed his symptoms were linked to a severe case of tonsillitis.

His partner, Belinda told of how their lives have been turned upside down in the wake of the shocking prognosis.

“He was complaining of a sore throat and then he started getting an earache and couldn’t breathe out of his right nostril and when we got the news it was just terrible, we couldn’t believe it,” said Belinda.

“We were just thinking of the kids and trying to get him better at this stage. It would be impossible for me to go as our youngest (Luke) is one on Wednesday and our daughter (Kaydee) is two on Sunday.”

His sister, Marie is hoping the appeal will allow her to travel alongside her brother to Mexico while also offsetting the costs for Johnny’s alternative immunotherapy treatment.

To date, the family's aptly dubbed Johnny’s Journey to Recovery has raised in the region of €12,000 but with time very much of the essence, Belinda called on the wider Longford public to rally around her stricken partner.

“He’s actually in top form and is so positive with all that is going on,” she said.

“We are all behind him as a family and just want him better.”

To donate to the online GoFundMe appeal, simply follow the link: https://www.gofundme. com/f/pkm78q-johnnys- journey-to-recovery