Glasgow family raise funds for Salivary Gland Cancer Charity in memory of their dad

Susan and Colin Morrison hosted a lively event in Dennistoun last Saturday which saw friends and family gather to toast their dad, Peter Morrison, who battled Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma before his death, aged 62.

READ MORE: Family's heartbreak over dad's cancer death: 'It’s just so sad to be taken this quickly'

Pictured: Susan and Colin with their father Peter

Speaking of their journey Susan said: "Our father was diagnosed with ACC in 2009 and went on to have radiotherapy and surgery.

"It lay dormant for a while but came back around 2017 meaning that he had to undergo more treatment.

"When the pandemic hit in 2020 his condition really started to deteriorate.

“He and my mum went to Manchester for a consultation with the only oncologist in the UK who deals with this type of cancer but they were told that there wasn’t a lot more they could do for him.

“He passed away a few months later.”

Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma is a form of Salivary Gland cancer that is extremely uncommon with only five in one million people in the UK receiving a diagnosis every year.

Recognising this, specialist oncologist Dr Robert Metcalf and patient advocate Emma Kinloch launched the Salivary Gland Cancer Charity to help raise funds for vital research and patient care.

Since their father's death, Susan and Colin have been working directly with the charity and hope that sharing their experiences will help others whose lives have been affected by the disease.

Pictured: Saturday's charity event was a huge success

Colin said: “I had a wee look into it and it’s shocking how little income that the charity actually makes.

“It’s really important to us to do as much as we can to help them because they’ve been so supportive of us."

Susan added: “The charity was only founded in 2019, so this was the first big event that anyone has had in aid of them.

“We’re hoping to raise as much money as possible to put back into their funds to allow them to do more research into ACC and care for other families who are going through the same thing that we did.”

As well as generating a huge amount of cash for little known charity, Saturday’s event served as a fitting tribute to Peter who was a much-loved figure in the Dennistoun community in his youth.

READ MORE: Hospital staff member has boiler named after him at Hospital in Airdrie

Pictured: Peter's brother David completed a sponsored cross trainer marathon in an impressive five hours ten minutes

Contributors were eager to pitch in for the big day with Peter's brother David completing a sponsored cross-trainer marathon and big-name teams donating signed football strips for auction.

Colin said: “It does feel like this night was long overdue. We never got to give our dad a proper send-off because he passed away in the middle of the pandemic.

“That was one of the most exciting parts of it for me.

Susan added: “The tickets sold out within a week, and we had loads of donations from across the local community because dad was so well known.

“It was really important to us to be able to gather everyone who cared about him while doing our bit to raise awareness.

"Our dad always taught us that when someone passes away you should celebrate their life because our time comes to us all.

"It was a massive success and we can't how much has been raised so far.”

For more information on the Salivary Gland Charity click here.

To visit Susan and Colin's GoFundMe in honour of their dad click here.