Marco Brown lives in Malta by himself, separated by thousands of kilometres from his UK-based family, but even from afar his cousins and Maltese friends have rallied around him to support him in his battle with cancer.

His cousin set up a website to raise funds to help ease Mr Brown’s financial burden, since he had to quit his job due to the excruciating back pain.

The 44-year-old was born in the UK to a Maltese mother and has been living on the island for 14 years after falling in love with the relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle.

However, towards the beginning of this year, Mr Brown started to experience a searing back pain.

He took painkillers in an attempt to dull the pain but it persisted stubbornly.

He thought he had a slipped disc or a degenerative disease but was unprepared for a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, last month.

“It was a bit of a shock,” Mr Brown says. “But the thing is that I had been in pain for so long that I thought it would last forever.

“So it was a bit of a relief that I could give it a name, that it was no longer abstract. Now I had something to fight towards.”

It’s inside me. I’m just waiting for it to leave- Marco Brown

He has begun chemotherapy and is set to undergo a bone marrow transplant at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.

“This week the pain has subsided slightly,” he says.

“But it can creep up on you within a second.

“Even a simple reflex action such as stretching your arm can trigger it – and leave me blocked in pain for three to four hours. Then you get very panicky and you start getting short of breath and you become a different person.”

The pain means he has been unable to leave his apartment for the past four months.

Everyday chores become a struggle – especially cleaning.

But Mr Brown admits he has been blessed, as his friends offer to do chores for him or bring him food.

One of his cousins in the UK has set up a website to raise funds to help Mr Brown get through this difficult period since he had to give up his job as an English language teacher and he is still not on social benefits.

Meanwhile, his Maltese friends have been sharing the website on social media platforms, adding that “it would mean the world to us” if people could generously contribute whatever amount of money to his cause.

Some family members are also on their way for a visit.

“It’s very encouraging to see the solidarity everyone’s been showing me. I miss my job and my students. I really miss the sea and going out. It’s a long voyage ahead – I might need to spend three months in hospital,” he says.

“But I’ve accepted it’s inside me and it’s on the way out. I’m just waiting for it to leave.”

To contribute a donation to help Marco Brown, please visit http://friends.marcoart.co.uk/

Note: Any people who might know Mr Brown’s grandmother in the UK are asked not to inform her of his illness.