A dad-of-two who has been battling cancer has been dealt a further blow following a heartbreaking consultation.
Michael Moriarty was first diagnosed with cancerous tumours in his bowel, liver and lung on Christmas Eve in 2020 after having his concerns dismissed as nothing more than haemorrhoids.
Since the start of last year Michael has been undertaking a series of gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy bouts to reduce the size of the tumours.
READ MORE: Just Eat rebel says customer 'loophole' has cost jobs at his takeaway
The ECHO first spoke with Michael, 36, in October last year as he was about to undertake another course of chemotherapy which doctors said has a 30% chance of working.
But just this week the dad-of-two from Walton was dealt a heartbreaking blow after he was told in a consultation he had only two years to live and there was no further treatment.
Despite the devastating news, Michael is remaining strong for his wife Lyndsey and daughters Libby and Phoebe.
Michael's mum Bernadette told the ECHO he's willing to continue his battle with the cancer for them.
She said: "He's so strong and so positive.
"I spoke with him after his last radiotherapy and he said he wasn't getting any better, he's getting worse.
"He said he thought he was going to get bad news but he was amazing and asked loads of questions and was positive.
"He asked if he has five years but they told him he would be lucky to have two.
"It's just heartbreaking as he has two young children.
"He said he'll fight for everything for those young girls.
"They know he's not well but he tries to be as strong as possible for them.
"There's things he can't do sometimes because he's in so much pain, but they're resilient children as young as they are."
Michael previously told the ECHO in 2021 that the support he's had off his family has been incredible.
He said: "Lyndsey has been amazing. We've got two young kids together and she's been picking up a lot of the slack because I can't do anything really.
"I don't let the kids see how ill I am. My daughter even said, 'Dad it's weird, you don't even act sick'."
Bernadette, 56, told the ECHO it's been heartbreaking as a mum to see her child go through what he has.
She said: "It's horrendous - I'm literally heartbroken.
"That's not how the circle of life goes. You don't ever think you'll bury your own child.
"It's heartbreaking but seeing his strength stops me from breaking down."
Now Michael is looking to raise money for alternative treatments that could save his life and keep the family man with his girls.
He has already had a consultation at the Rutherford Centre in Liverpool and is also exploring the possibilities of treatment in Europe as well.
Bernadette added some of the treatments they're considering for Michael include immunotherapy and proton beam therapy.
Michael has to raise between £40-50,000 for the treatment but is being supported by a fantastic support group of friends and family.
Bernadette said: "Michael has a fantastic group of friends from his childhood - and in everything they do they support him and give towards his treatments.
"My work has been great as well. They've helped with fundraisers and raffles and everything.
"We're doing everything we can to just get money to help him.
"Seeing his strength gives us the fight to carry on trying to fundraise whatever we can.
"We want to do anything we can to prolong his life - we can only try."
You can donate to Michael's fundraiser for alternative treatment here.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
