AT 37 Amjad Hussain was a healthy father and businessman. He had never smoked, enjoyed playing football and visited the gym regularly.

When he went to his GP with a persistent cough and breathlessness, the doctor thought it might be TB or a lung infection.

But on November 29, 2004, the take-away owner was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Mr Hussain, who has two daughters aged three and nine, said: "In December I started the chemotherapy and I was just in shock."

The treatment meant attending the hospital every two or three weeks to be attached to a machine for a day and left Mr Hussain feeling tired constantly.

However, when he went for a scan to check his condition, his consultant said the drugs were not working as well as they should. Mr Hussain, from East Kilbride, was transferred to stronger medication. He said: "All my hair fell out. And I was sleeping more. I was out for the count most of the time."

Then, towards the end of last year, Mr Hussain's consultant suggested he tried a new drug, Tarceva, a pill he could swallow at home.

At first he broke out in a severe rash and felt so unwell he could not walk, but after the dosage was lowered and he was given cream for his skin, the side effects vanished.

The results of his first scan after starting the new treatment even took his consultant aback. The tumour had shrunk again and started breaking-up.

Now the tumour has stabilised and Mr Hussain does not need to spend long days in hospital. He said: "Tarceva has helped me resume a more normal life."