A KIDDERMINSTER-based MEP is supporting a campaign to raise awareness of a rare chronic disease which claimed the life of his first wife.

UKIP’s James Carver said he is determined to ensure sufferers of scleroderma receive crucial early diagnosis and that money is raised for research to find a cure.

Mr Carver suffered heartbreak when his wife Carmen died from the disease in 2009.

Scleroderma is a disease of the immune system, blood vessels and connective tissue. There are around 2.5 million sufferers worldwide, with 12,000 people currently living with the disease in the UK.

It is an autoimmune condition, meaning the immune system becomes overactive and attacks healthy tissue in the body.

Hardening of the skin is one of the first noticeable symptoms, caused by the body producing too much collagen, which can affect the skin, joints, tendons and internal organs. It causes scarring and stops the affected parts of the body from functioning normally.

Speaking ahead of Scleroderma Awareness Day on Thursday, June 29, Mr Carver said: “Losing a loved one at such a young age, who bravely battled this illness on a daily basis, has, without doubt, proved to be the most defining moment of my life.

“I am determined to do all that I can to help give patients, and their loved ones, the best opportunity to beat this wicked disease. Only by raising awareness, and funding, can we hope to find a cure.

“Awareness raising – and fundraising – has been going on all month ahead of next Thursday’s scleroderma awareness day and I hope that telling my and Carmen’s story will go some way towards helping spread the message more widely.”

Following his wife’s death, at the age of 42, Mr Carver made a lifetime commitment to raising money and awareness for the Scleroderma Society – recently renamed Scleroderma and Raynauds UK – and in 2012 he completed a personal goal of running the London Marathon, raising more than £6,000 for the cause so close to his heart.

Speaking in the European Parliament earlier this month, Mr Carver paid tribute to the work of the charity and that of the Federation of European Scleroderma Associations in supporting patients and their loved ones.

He said early diagnosis can have huge benefits for sufferers and urged fellow MEPs to raise awareness about the disease in their member states.

Mr Carver had previously staged an awareness-raising event in the European Parliament in 2015, with medical experts and scleroderma patients speaking to other Euro MPs.

The UK-based charity rebranded to acknowledge Raynaud’s Syndrome, which is also often suffered by scleroderma patients, causing hardening of the skin, swelling of the hands and feet, joint pain and stiffness and blood vessel damage leading to a physical over-reaction to cold or stress.

More information about the disease can be found online at www.sruk.co.uk