A BARRHEAD mum has shared a touching poem dedicated to her ongoing cancer battle, written by a former commando.

Lesley Graham wants to promote the work of Alex Cairnie, from Neilston, where Lesley was born and bred, to draw attention to the hardship she and countless others have to go through when fighting the illness.

The 39-year-old mother-of-two sent the poem to the News to allow the rest of the community to read its message.

Entitled The Game of Life, the poem focuses on the incredible lengths Lesley has had to go to in order to gain access to a £15,000-per-round drug which has helped her to outlive a four-to-six-month life expectancy period given to her back in April.

“It’s a brilliant poem,” she said.

“For somebody to write a poem about me, although we don’t know each other that well, I think that shows a kind, compassionate heart.

“I thought I’d share it because it was on Facebook anyway. It was really nice and sometimes people get more out of poetry.

“I thought it was really quite a good medium because it says it all and it’s not only true of myself, it’s true of loads and loads of people.”

Doctors informed Lesley of the devastating news after cancer spread from her breast to her brain, liver and ribs.

She was told the professionals’ hands were tied as NHS bosses would not grant her access to the Kadcyla drug – the only hope she had of living longer.

Despite being refused permission to undergo treatment earlier this year, Lesley led a hard-fought campaign for access to the NHS-funded Kadcyla – which is not readily available in Scotland – that ultimately proved successful.

She has now received eight rounds of the drug, which has given her the chance to spend precious time with husband Colin, 47, and daughters Rebekah, 12, and 14-year-old Charlotte.

However, it was the seemingly endless amount of suffering that Lesley had to face which prompted Alex, also 39, into publishing his thoughts.

The former Royal Marines commando, who has written poetry since he was a teenager, felt compelled to publicise Lesley’s torturous journey.

One section of Alex’s poem in particular catches the eye. It reads: “You play with time, like life is just a game. You dangle carrots, but never ask my name.

“Just a number, a statistic you could mend. But because I can’t afford the price, this is my end?”

Reflecting on the time he spent writing the hard-hitting poem, Alex said: “When we initially found out about her second diagnosis, and they were holding her up for treatment on the grounds of cost, I found that quite appalling.

“It was going around in my head for a couple of months. I think she was quite overwhelmed by it.

“Anything I write, there’s usually an agenda in it – it’s just the way it is. She’s not fighting this alone. She deserves the help.”

The poem is the latest act of kindness shown to Lesley by members of the community.

Since her original diagnosis, friends, relatives and complete strangers have all come together for a host of fundraising events – including an ice hockey match and a ceilidh – to generate money in her name.

The idea is to raise enough funds to enable Lesley and her family to make the most of whatever time they have left together.

Lesley admits she was “blown away” by Alex’s work and says she will be eternally grateful to all who help her.

However, she will never understand why the government forces patients to go through such a challenging process just to be granted access to a potentially life-saving drug.

She said: “I’m just blown away by this, I think how lucky I am. I know I live in Barrhead but I was born and bred in Neilston – I consider both areas as my community.

“I’m just really touched, I thought it hit on everything.

“But Sometimes you look at them in the Scottish Parliament and it’s like they’re not even listening to what the person’s discussing. We need to change this.

“They need to change the way we treat people with really bad illnesses because I don’t think we treat them they way we should.

“We have a fundamental flaw and everybody is terrified to say something that’s not politically correct.”

To donate to a GoFundMe page set up on Lesley’s behalf, visit gofundme.com/makingmemories38