James McAvoy donates over $62,000 to teenager battling cancer

James Mcavoy has donated $62,500 to help a teenager battling cancer get pioneering treatment in America.

The Split actor paid a visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London this week (beg30Jan17), and met patient Kelly Turner during his trip.

The 16-year-old was given just two years to live when she was diagnosed with desmoplastic round cell tumours in October, 2015, and after the National Health Service (NHS) told her family they would be unable to fund further treatment following nine rounds of chemotherapy, her relatives set up a JustGiving page.

Their hope was to raise the $1.24 million Kelly would need to travel over to America to be treated for her condition in New York.

Now they are edging significantly closer to their target, after James, 37, shared his donation on Kelly's fundraising page on Thursday (02Feb16).

"Great to meet you the other day Kelly. I hope this helps you achieve your goal sooner rather than later. Good luck luv (sic) James," the actor wrote alongside the donation.

Kelly's father Martin Turner was quick to thank James for his generosity, writing on his Twitter page on Thursday night: "Thank you James McAvoy, you're wonderful."

Kelly's initial surgery at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York will cost $500,000 , with follow-up immunotherapy and other treatments meaning her total bill will be around $1.2 million.

The JustGiving page is currently up to $562,000 with Martin explaining the reasons the family are seeking help Stateside.

"She's been well cared for by The Royal Marsden, Sutton UK with nine rounds of chemotherapy which has responded well," he wrote on Kelly's JustGiving page. "But because there are tumours close to her liver they're not prepared to carry out any surgery.

"We have sought a fifth opinion from Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York and they have agreed to do the surgery, immunotherapy and radiotherapy."