Dying Man Wins £5000 Bet on His Life

A man dying of a rare form of lung cancer, mesothelioma has collected 5000 pounds after winning a bet that he would live past doctors’ predictions.

Eight months ago, doctors had told Jon Matthews, the 58-year-old man from Milton Keynes, he probably would not live to see Christmas. He has mesothelioma - a cancer linked to asbestos.

Matthews, who was diagnosed in April 2006, was told the longest anyone had survived the cancer was 25 months.

He placed a 100 pounds bet at 50-1 that he would still be around in a year.

It has now been 25 months and a week since his terminal disease was diagnosed.

Jon Matthews said: "I do get bad days obviously but I'm feeling fine today. Everyone's feeling fine if they're going to pick up five grand."

The former car dealer will be giving half the money paid out by bookers William Hill to the Macmillan cancer charity.

"The other half I'm going to spend on myself - booze and fags probably - I don't have anything to lose," he said.

"The other thing I've always wanted to do is a bungee jump," Matthews added.

Graham Sharpe, media relations director with William Hill, said: "We have never been asked to accept a bet of this nature before, but as Jon approached us directly and was adamant that it would give him an additional incentive to battle his illness, we offered him the bet he wanted.

"Never, in 30 years in the business, have I been so pleased to pay a winning client £5,000," Sharpe said.

Source-Medindia
THK/L