TWO months ago Lochmaben teenager Charlie Watson was diagnosed with stage four skin cancer but this week he’s hoping to cause an almighty Scottish Cup shock in front of the television cameras.
The 19-year-old Threave Rovers star was told in August that he is battling nodular malignant melanoma and it had spread to his liver and lungs. Charlie, above, and his devastated family are desperately trying to raise funds for research after finding out he has the fast-growing and dangerous type of skin cancer.
His cancer journey started over a year ago when he noticed a mole start to change on his abdomen following a lads holiday to Magaluf. The mole grew around one inch in size before some of it pulled off and it was eventually removed in October. However, two weeks later Charlie — who is in his third year apprenticeship in joinery — was told he had skin cancer. Doctors later revealed the disease had spread to his liver and lungs and reached stage four.
Despite the diagnosis and receiving gruelling monthly treatments, Charlie is defying the odds by remarkably still playing every week for Castle Douglas footballing side Threave.
He said: “I’ve not felt it impact me footballing wise, maybe only after matches. I don’t really do anything so I can rest. I’m just trying to keep myself as normal as I possibly can and keep going.
“I signed for Threave during the summer after I left Queen of the South. The football club has been a second family, everyone here has been unbelievable with me and so understanding.
“The season is going well for us so far but I feel a season isn’t officially good until you win something so we’re looking to win the league. With the team we’ve got, I feel we can do that and push on.”
After the West of Scotland outfit dismantled Berwick Rangers 3-0 in the last round of the Scottish Cup, they were handed a dream tie against local rivals Stranraer, which will be shown live on BBC Scotland on Friday night. Charlie knows this is a huge opportunity to raise further awareness of his condition to all sides of the country. He said: “Hopefully we can get as much awareness as possible with the match being on telly. People from across the country can hear my story and raise more awareness.
“It was hard at the start to talk about my condition, but now I’m wanting to raise awareness about it and how to prevent it.
“The Scottish Cup draw couldn’t have been better. It’s a local derby and hopefully there’s a good turnout in numbers. It really is the magic of the cup, hopefully we can take another big team out. “We’ve got to believe in ourselves, I think we’ve got a good chance.”
Since his shock cancer news, Charlie started a fundraising page. Family, friends and strangers have set up events to raise cash which has seen the total raised climb over £40k. Charlie added: “It’s been amazing seeing the support. So many people have been raising money or donating, it’s been hard to keep on top of it. I’m so grateful people are taking their time to help.
“The Threave squad have been spot on too, they organised a golf fundraiser which raised over £8k.”
