A fundraiser set up by the friends of a man who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer has smashed its initial target figure - and has continued to grow.

Friends of Joe Perrin, from Helston, have set up a GoFundMe page in order for Joe to be able to afford an all-purpose wheelchair that will allow him to regain some of his independence after his diagnosis.

Having only been online for just over 48 hours, the page has now raised around £15,500 and continues to grow.

After being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that left him paralysed from the waist down, dad of one Joe has had is world turned upside down.

Joe said: "It's been such a rough 18 months because I was struggling for a few months before I actually went into hospital.

"It was April last year that I was properly admitted to hospital, but it had been going on quite a few months before that, but I was still cycling to work until February.

"I had to go off work at the end of February, so I was off pretty much all of March and by April I was in hospital, and there was no going back, so yeah, quite a journey.

"I never saw it coming, I had a bit of bad back and I could tell it was affecting my mobility, but I was still cycling in to work, to and from every day."

Having received the news 18 months ago, Joe, and the people around him, have been doing everything they can to adjust to their new lifestyle - including modifying their house and making routine things most of us take for granted more accessible for Joe.

Falmouth Packet: Joe with fiancée Becca and son Finn. Joe with fiancée Becca and son Finn.

However, one of the things that would make Joe much more independent is an all-purpose wheelchair that accommodates his specific condition better.

"The NHS do what they do, but there's a limit to what they can do.

"I've been provided a wheelchair through the NHS, and it's fit for the house but not fit for anywhere else.

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Joe is usually quite a private person, and so the thought of setting up a GoFundMe page initially didn't seem like something he would be willing to do, however, after consulting with his friends, who thought it was a great idea, a page was set up for Joe in order to raise the money needed for a chair that would suit his needs much better.

Marc Rose, one of Joe close friends and one of the people involved in setting up the GoFundMe said: "When Joe got his diagnosis back in 2020, it was a shock to everyone, let alone Joe.

"Because of how rare the form of cancer he has is, no one was sure how he'd react to treatment, but he's smashing it.

"He's had to do it all alone with Covid, without seeing his fiancée and his son, his friends, he's done it all himself.

"He's the strongest person I know.

"Obviously there's had to have been massive adaptations to the house, he's had to have a lift put in, a wet room installed, which gives him so much more freedom, but the biggest thing was a chair.

"He did all his research and was looking into stuff, and a chair that would pretty much change his life is not a cheap thing.

"Like anyone, he wants his independence, he doesn't want to rely on Becca (his fiancée) or me or any of our friends, he wants to be able to do it himself.

Falmouth Packet: Joe, Marc and their friend Hugh. Joe, Marc and their friend Hugh.

"So, me and our close group of friends thought 'if we can put a dent in that cost that would be awesome' so we set up a GoFundMe page and three hours later we'd hit our target.

"So, he can now upgrade to a motorised chair which will give him even more range and things he can do by himself.

"It's just been absolutely remarkable; it's blown everyone away.

Joe added: "I find the whole thing nuts, it still hasn't sunk in properly, I spent 48 hours just trying to compose a thank you message, I've been totally overwhelmed."

If you'd like to donate to Joe's wheelchair fund, you can do so by visiting the GoFundMe page: gofundme.com/f/wheelchair-for-joe