Coronavirus lockdown 'a blessing' for Warwickshire couple after cancer shock

Lockdown has been "a blessing" for the family of a man who was told his cancer was terminal days after the birth of his first child.

Owen Murray, from Warwickshire, and fiancée Laura Dear welcomed daughter Luna on 15 December. Four days later they were told they were "out of options" to treat his illness.

Lockdown meant the family had spent every day together, Miss Dear said.

Mr Murray said he was "not giving up" in his fight against cancer.

"You can't bury your head in the sand and just hope for the best, you really have to be prepared for that bad news so it is not too much of a shock," he said.

"But at the same time, you are hoping for the best.

"I think it is really important to just keep positive and focusing on all the positives that are around rather than the one, albeit huge, negative that is in the middle of our lives at the moment."

Mr Murray, 39, and Miss Dear, 37, met in October 2019 and moved in together in Long Itchington in February 2020.

On 20 March 2020, Mr Murray said, he went into hospital for scans which found he had bowel cancer.

Later tests showed the disease had spread to his lymphatic system and liver.

Two weeks later, Miss Dear said, it was a "massive shock" when she found out she was pregnant.

Both spent much of 2020 in and out of hospital, as Miss Dear went for checks on her pregnancy and Mr Murray began treatment.

Describing lockdown as a "blessing", Miss Dear said: "We have spent literally every day together and it has been lovely, we've been able to look after each other."

The pair, who got engaged shortly after baby Luna's birth, have begun researching alternative options which include specialist clinics in London and possibly travelling to Mexico for further treatment.

Fundraising to explore alternative treatments has raised thousands of pounds.

"It is certainly not the end as far as I am concerned," Mr Murray said.

"We are eventually going to find something that works on this thing, I am pretty convinced of that, certainly never giving up."

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