Brave Scott puts cancer shock to side for golf day

A MAN with terminal cancer, who was told he had just six months to live, has raised £6000 after completing a 72-hole golf marathon in 17 hours.

Scott McIntyre, 38, was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma at the Western General Hospital in January and given the devastating news that he had just six months to live.

Despite the diagnosis, Scott, who lives in Colinton Mains, vowed to raise as much money as possible for the Beatson Cancer Centre in Glasgow, where he has been receiving treatment.

On Monday, he was joined by friends John Nolan, from Gracemount, and Ian Dickson, of Ormiston, East Lothian, for two rounds on each of the east and west courses at Dalmahoy. The fourth spot in each of the rounds was auctioned to raise further funds.

Scott had been treated and given the all-clear for melanoma in 2005 when he had a cancerous mole removed from his jawline.

However, in December last year, a lump appeared in his neck, close to the site of the original mole, and he started to suffer from abdominal problems.

He said he was “dumbfounded” when he was told he had terminal cancer.

“To be told at the age of 38 that you have got six months to live is, I think, probably the worst news you could ever imagine,” he said.

“My immediate family and friends just went to pieces because, up until that point, I was so fit and healthy. All of a sudden, over the space of a month, I had lost two stone in weight and the colour of my complexion had changed.”

Scott started a new melanoma drug trial – vemurafenib – in February, which could potentially extend his life expectancy slightly, and said he has got some quality of life back since taking the drug.

He said: “I went from lying in bed to sitting on the sofa.

“The medical people won’t tell you but it’s supposed to give me about six months extra, but everybody’s different.”

Shortly after the diagnosis, Scott proposed to his partner, Paula, 36, at the Beatson centre on Valentine’s Day – with a Haribo sweet ring – and the couple married at the Point Hotel in Edinburgh in March.

He has created a “bucket list” of all the things he hopes to do before he dies, including a trip to New York and various outings with his three-year-old stepdaughter, Caitlin.

He said: “We’ve been to Edinburgh Zoo and Deep Sea World, and we’re going to Blair Drummond Safari Park. It’s all about getting memories. We take the camcorder with us and try and get things captured for memories for when I’m no longer here.”

Scott, an IT officer for Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, hopes to raise as much as he can for the Beatson and, with the help of Ian and John, smashed his fundraising target of £2000 for the marathon golf day. The trio were cheered on by family and friends during the fourth and final round.

“It was tough going,” Scott said. “The sun and the heat really took its toll. I think everybody started to hit a wall in the third round, both mentally and physically.

“It was pitch dark by the time we came off the course. We had been teeing off into the darkness – it was just pure luck that we managed to find the balls. It was quite emotional for everybody at the end and there was a massive sense of achievement.”

Scott praised the “amazing patient care” at the Beatson and, together with friends, has organised a race night at Carrickvale Golf Club on June 29.

To sponsor the golfers, visit www.justgiving.com/Backing-the-Beatson-Golf-Challenge.