SIX years ago, David Jones' life hung in the balance as he underwent radical surgery to treat a rare cancer.

The father-of-two, from Rassau, Ebbw Vale, spent 13 hours on the operating table at a Hampshire hospital, one of just a handful across the world where his cancer - known as pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), that had been found in his appendix - could be treated.

Three days on a life support machine was followed by a slow and difficult recovery, his weight falling from more than 13 stones to just nine.

Two six-month courses of chemotherapy followed, in 2012 and 2014, with another imminent, along with side effects he calls "devastating."

The 51-year-old's cancer, while treatable, is not curable. But Mr Jones is determined to be around for many a long year.

And he is telling his story in support of the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, a fundraising drive run by Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 that aims to support vital research into new and better treatments.

Appendicitis was a suspected cause of the abdominal pain with which Mr Jones was sent to Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny in 2010.

His appendix was the seat of the problem, but the cause was far more serious than he and his doctors had suspected.

"I'm not a big man, but I had an extended stomach, which I had put down to getting older," said Mr Jones.

"After the results came back, several doctors gathered around my bed were talking about something I didn't understand.

"I heard them say "very rare" and it was later explained to me that I had cancer of my appendix."

Such a cancer is very rare in the UK, at around one per 100,000 people.

On his own when he found out how serious his illness was, Mr Jones sat on a bench outside the hospital, and "cried my eyes out."

"I went through the 'why me, why me?' stage and moved to the 'I will get through this' stage," he said.

His determination was fuelled by thoughts of his family, wife Sally and two daughters, now aged 23 and 19, one of whom has special needs. But he faced major, specialist surgery.

The operation involved the removal of his appendix, gall bladder, spleen, and part of his bowel, and treatment of the affected area with heated chemotherapy during surgery.

It was carried out at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital - one of just two designated specialist treatment centres for his cancer in the UK - and nearly 150 miles from home, which meant he was on his own for much of his one month stay.

Six years on, and with a third gruelling bout of chemotherapy ahead to help keep the cancer in check, Mr Jones has regained the weight he lost, and despite the effect on his mental as well as physical health, remains positive about the future.

"It's been very hard, but my family has been my strength," he said.

"I want to share my story, and I'm backing Stand Up To Cancer, because I'd want to do my bit to help others."

Stand Up To Cancer, launched in the UK in 2012, has raised more than £25 million to fund transitional research, taking developments in the laboratory and transforming them into new tests and treatments.

"I am the result of where some of that money goes," said Mr Jones.

"I want to encourage people to support research into treatments, because research is where it all starts."

* For more information on the campaign and how to support it, visit www.standuptocancer.org.uk