A ROSYTH family has been rocked by news that their much-loved parents and grandparents were told they had terminal cancer just days apart from each other.

Michael and Irena Smith, of Walter Hay Court, received the devastating diagnoses at the end of June.

Irena, 73, was told she had lung cancer and, two days later, Michael, 74, learned that he had terminal kidney cancer which had spread to his chest.

Heartbroken daughter Lynn Hastings said the family were attempting to come to terms with the news and planned on making every moment they have left with her parents count.

Her and niece Lauren Smith were due to kick-off a fundraising effort for Maggie's yesterday (Wednesday) to raise funds and awareness of the work they do and she will continue this today (Thursday) after they pledged to walk 50 miles in September for the charity.

"I am losing both parents, my niece is losing her gran and grandad, it is a huge trauma to the whole family," she told the Press. "It is all the emotions we are going through with the absolute shock and disbelief. We are grieving just now before we start grieving.

"The emotions are on a daily basis. It isn't just hourly, it is every minute there can be a flash of emotion and trying to control your emotion as you know what is going to happen.

"There is nothing they can do for them. My dad is due to have a CT scan and he will then be given a timescale. His main thing for him is how long.

"My mum is the same, she is terminal. They are just managing it by morphine."

Determined to make a positive out of the situation, auxiliary nurse Lynn said her and Lauren wanted to do something to celebrate Michael and Irena and the work of Maggie's while they are still here.

"We are making the most of what we have got left," she said. "We want to celebrate the cherished moments and make a difference for Maggie's.

"The first time I went to Maggie's was with my dad. We went in not knowing what to expect. We were quite nervous and quite upset and scared. When we opened the door first, initially we thought, 'Oh no, what do we do, what do we say?' We were both trying not to cry.

"We opened the door and we were met with this amazing woman who just sat us down and gave us time to welcome us. The place was so welcoming and warm and friendly and they made us feel so comfortable.

"My dad and I were obviously upset and they just listened to us. They let my dad talk about how his feelings are with going through this, the shock and horror that he is going to lose his wife and going to lose his own life.

"He doesn't want to leave the family but is going to have to deal with it all. We are all trying to deal with it.

"My niece, Lauren, messaged me and said, 'Why don't we do something while they are still here?' They would be overwhelmed with us trying to create awareness for cancer. We can make that difference for people and help them along that journey."

The pair now plan to walk 50 miles for Maggie's in September and will undertake numerous return trips from Rosyth to Pittencrieff Park over the coming weeks.

"When we get to a mile, we are going to stop and do a dance for a celebration of my mum and dad's, Mike and Irena's, life," said Lynn.

"We will both have a balloon, one will have a lilac ribbon and the other one a red one as they are my mum and dad's favourite colours, and we will both be wearing orange t-shirts with 'Maggie's' on.

"We are going to do the same route every time we are walking. We are hoping to do a live stream and let as many people know as we can. We want everyone to follow our journey.

"We want to be there for other people to make a difference. It is a taboo subject to deal with trauma like that and we want to help."

Anyone wanting to help with fundraising can do so by visiting https://m.facebook.com/donate/373999134364422/?fundraiser_source=feed.