Ollie Watkins joins celebs, rock stars and rival fans in donating to father-of-two Brentford fan fighting rare cancer
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ASTON Villa striker Ollie Watkins, his former Brentford team-mates, Pointless star Richard Osman, Hollywood actress Helena Bonham Carter, and rocker Brian May have led the donations for a Bees super fan suffering from a rare bone cancer.
Back in June, Jamie Powell, 41, and his family had their life turned upside down when he was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, an aggressive cancer of the skull.
The lifelong Brentford fan underwent chemotherapy at University College London Hospital, as well as Rapid Arc Photon Therapy.
However, doctors warned that both treatments would only slow the cancer down rather than cure it, believing Jamie had months or short years to live.
But his family weren't going to give up. They heavily researched alternative treatments in the UK and abroad, and came across the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who confirmed they would treat Jamie with Proton Beam Therapy.
Proton Beam Therapy is a specialist form of radiation that only targets the cancerous cells and not the surrounding brain tissues, meaning doctors can administer a much larger and more powerful dose.
A JustGiving crowdfunding page was set up for the father-of-two, a head plasterer on numerous film sets and TV shows at Shepperton Studios, to raise £350,000 for the treatment in America with hopes raised he can beat the cancer.
And now the football world, a rock star and TV personalities have united to help the Powell family by drawing attention to the cause.
Jamie's best pal James Lyall, also 41, proactively contacted Brentford and their fans' club to drum up some support.
"I tweeted the club as well as Beesotted, the Brentford fans' group about Jamie's Just Giving page, and it snowballed from there," Lyle told SunSport.
"They both retweeted my message, Fulham FC retweeted it, Richard Osman, Brian May from Queen put it on his Instagram and Keith Lemon.
"It really got some amazing traction, and even fans from rival London clubs like QPR and Fulham put rivalries apart and gave us some donations.
"Ollie Watkins saw it, he donated some money too and his girlfriend Ellie has helped spread the word too.
"Hollywood actress Helena Bonham Carter also gave a sizeable donation, after he worked with her on a film.
"We're also doing an online auction, which Ollie has donated some boots for, we've got shirts from different clubs, memorabilia from the original Wembley Stadium signed by Geoff Hurst, and Brentford are doing a raffle too."
So far, Jamie's JustGiving page has raised an astonishing £268,664 thanks to football fans and celebrities.
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He is in Boston now, with his treatment beginning on November 14.
However, he is still short of the £350,000 target needed.
TO DONATE TO JAMIE'S JUSTGIVING PAGE, PLEASE CLICK HERE