Melanoma patient Stuart Taylor told he is unlikely to live until Christmas

Stuart Taylor sits on the verandah of a rustic holiday rental in Lower Portland, an hour and a half from the bustle of his Sydney home, and gazes out at the Hawkesbury River.

He has spent much of his life on this stretch of water, taking the boat out at dawn with sons Jack, 20, and Warwick, 18, to catch bass — fish he describes as “too beautiful to eat”.

But these days Stuart watches his boys’ boating adventures from his seat on the verandah. He has become too weak to venture downstairs and across the green grass to the water’s edge.

The 58-year-old has been diagnosed with advanced melanoma. His body is not responding to treatment and it’s unlikely…