Proposal ticks the boxes

Andy Rahman hopes to marry his fiancee, Emma Taplin, next years. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand man Andy Rahman is not going to let terminal cancer stop him from fulfilling his dreams.

The 43-year-old, who was diagnosed with stage four lymphatic cancer in October last year and given between six months and two years to live, has created a Facebook "bucket-list" to help him live life to the fullest.

Proposing to his girlfriend, Emma Taplin, with the perfect ring was top of the list.

"I put [the proposal plan] up on my bucket list page but I didn't have enough money to get a ring, so I started a gofundme page and all of a sudden people were donating money towards it and I was able to buy a ring and propose to Emma on Halloween."

A wedding is next on the list and the couple are hoping to have that ticked off by mid-year.

"We found out about an organisation called My Wedding List that grants full white weddings to terminally ill patients. I am filling in the forms for that and we will see if we get that. If we get that ... it is going to save us a lot and we will then be able to fly some of our family over for the wedding and go on a honeymoon."

The business consultant, who has been living in Australia for the past five years and is on holiday in New Zealand, was first diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2014 and underwent a series of operations and chemotherapy.

The treatment efforts were successful but only for a short time.

"After my big operation, they monitored me every three months," he said.

"Then we got the news that it had spread into his lymphatic system and there are now three tumours in his back lymph nodes and the thing with being in your lymphatic system, is that you can't operate on that," said Taplin.

That sad news prompted Rahman to create the Facebook page Andy's Bucket List. The page has garnered hundreds of likes from supporters and drawn in offers of help.

"I started putting things on the list, things that I thought were achievable and that I could afford to do and have just been adding to it since then."

Rahman said the ultimate dream would be to take his three sons and Taplin's 13-year-old son Jaden on a family cruise. "Every moment with [the family] is precious. Telling my family has been the hardest part of the journey," he said.

Rahman is still working part-time but is considering applying for a sickness benefit so he can spend more time with his fiancee and focus on his bucket list.

"At the end of the day, when my time comes, I don't want to look back and think, 'Oh I didn't do this and I didn't do that'," he said.