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It should have been one of the best days of their lives.

But their elation at landing funding for their new movie quickly turned to devastation for Scots scriptwriter Lesley Paterson and her film director husband Simon Marshall.

The couple had been celebrating the good news on the terrace of a Beverly Hills hotel in November after getting backing to bring the 1946 book Man’s Search for Meaning to the big screen.

But moments later their joy was shattered by a call from the hospital where Mr Marshall, 54, had been tested for stomach pains. The doctor said he had stage four pancreatic cancer. Most sufferers live no longer than a year.

‘Something in me knew,’ he told the Sunday Times.

It should have been one of the best days of their lives. But their elation at landing funding for their new movie quickly turned to devastation for Scots scriptwriter Lesley Paterson and her film director husband Simon Marshall (pictured at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party)

It should have been one of the best days of their lives. But their elation at landing funding for their new movie quickly turned to devastation for Scots scriptwriter Lesley Paterson and her film director husband Simon Marshall (pictured at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party)

The couple (pictured at the Netflix Oscar Nominee Celebration in March 2023) had been celebrating the good news on the terrace of a Beverly Hills hotel in November after getting backing to bring the 1946 book Man's Search for Meaning to the big screen

The couple (pictured at the Netflix Oscar Nominee Celebration in March 2023) had been celebrating the good news on the terrace of a Beverly Hills hotel in November after getting backing to bring the 1946 book Man’s Search for Meaning to the big screen

The couple (pictured at the BAFTA's in 2023) are determined to fight on and have launched a GoFundMe page seeking around £400,000 to pay for experimental treatments

The couple (pictured at the BAFTA’s in 2023) are determined to fight on and have launched a GoFundMe page seeking around £400,000 to pay for experimental treatments

‘Lesley said: ‘It’s OK, we can deal with this,’ and I said, ‘Yes, we can.’ But as he stood up, he was overcome with nausea. ‘Psychologically I was thinking, ‘I’m OK,’ but my body was saying, ‘Oh my God, this news!’ I projectile vomited down the hallway.’

Ms Paterson, 43, later broke the heartbreaking news that the cancer was not responding to chemotherapy.

The couple are determined to fight on and have launched a GoFundMe page seeking around £400,000 to pay for experimental treatments.

They are also still intent on finishing their next project based on Viktor Frankl’s chronicle of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps.

The couple will fly to Austria on Thursday to meet the Holocaust survivor’s relatives, and also plan to visit specialists who they hope will be able to help Mr Marshall.

Ms Paterson, who won a Bafta for the 2022 Oscar- winning film All Quiet on the Western Front, said they see parallels with their own situation and Frankl’s exploration of the human urge to find meaning amid adversity.

She added: ‘We’re striving forward, believing we have a future. Frankl’s whole thing is if you focus on hope, it’s way more positive than the opposite.’

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This post first appeared on Daily mail