The man behind Snowy’s “snowball” kiosk is battling an aggressive form of cancer, which has landed him and his wife with serious financial difficulties.

Larry and Pamela Ingham have amassed $55,000 in debt since he received a diagnosis of multiple myeloma last May after suffering from persistent neck pain — the same disease that claimed his mother and cousin.

Doctors discovered that a tumour had grown in the 62-year-old’s C2 vertebra, fracturing it and placing him at risk of paralysis from the neck down.

After being flown via air ambulance to the Lahey Clinic in Boston, Mr Ingham received a month of radiation therapy to fight the cancer, which attacks the body’s plasma cells.

Although the treatment helped to shrink the tumour in his neck, as well as smaller growths in his ribs and stomach, it left its toll.

“Larry suffered very badly from the radiation,” Mrs Ingham said.

“It tore his skin and his throat, and he lost weight because he couldn’t eat due to the pain.”

Despite the treatment’s initial success, Mr Ingham’s tumour returned aggressively in November.

The Pembroke couple cannot afford a second round of therapy, so Mrs Ingham has quit her job as a clinical massage therapist to care for her husband.

“I’ve taken care of many cancer patients and helped them with pain relief, so I knew the journey Larry may go through,” she said.

Although the tumour has again shrunk, which Mrs Ingham attributes to alternative medicine and the power of prayer, doctors are still concerned about the possibility of paralysis.

Meanwhile, their financial situation also remains precarious.

“It’s a big blow when you’re not working,” Mrs Ingham said.

“Larry still has to go to the doctor’s appointments, we still need food on the table and gas in the car, plus there are bills and house payments. It all mounts up.”

Mr and Mrs Ingham also hope to purchase a $25,000 piece of equipment which has previously proven successful in shrinking his tumours, and an armchair that will allow Mr Ingham to sleep and stand up comfortably.

They plan to reopen Snowy’s soon, with other employees running the business day-to-day.

Now based in Wesley Square on Church Street, the company was founded in 1992 by Mr Ingham — aka “Mr Snowy”. It has since become a Bermudian institution for its “snowball” ice treats. When asked how he came up with the idea for his business, Mr Ingham joked that “people were hot and Snowy’s was cold”.

Mr Ingham said other than the difficulties caused by his illness, the couple had been self-sufficient.

“I’d like to thank the patrons for their support over the years,” he said.

“I’m fighting through this pain daily. I want to live, and I believe that I’ve got a lot of life left in me.”

• To offer the Inghams your help and well wishes, call 297-0540, or visit the Snowy’s stand on Church Street for more information