Dave Paxton, 38, was ordering medication for anxiety and was about to hang up when the pharmacist asked – “Any other concerns?”
This prompted Dave to mention his unusually dark-coloured stools, something he otherwise wouldn’t have sought medical advice for.
Just four days after speaking to his GP, an endoscopy revealed that Dave had cancer of the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. A subsequent CT scan confirmed it to be a grade-four squamous cell tumour, placing Dave among a tiny group of just 22 confirmed cases worldwide.
The cancer has since metastasised to his liver, exerts pressure on his pancreas, and causes frequent bleeding requiring blood transfusions every four days. Whilst doctors haven’t provided a prognosis, Dave is currently undergoing six months of chemotherapy to shrink the tumour and receiving radiotherapy to manage the bleeding, all funded through private health insurance acquired via his job.
Due to the rarity of duodenal squamous-cell tumours, no trials have been conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of immunotherapy, rendering this option unavailable to Dave, neither through his insurance nor the NHS. Consequently, he is undertaking a fundraising campaign to gather the £180,000 necessary for 24 sessions of the potential life-saving treatment.
Dave from Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, opened up about his ordeal, saying: “This is terrifying and the treatment side effects are horrendous, but I’m very grateful to the pharmacist for checking in with me. I had noticed but wasn’t thinking much of it.”, reports Yorkshire Live.
He shared: “The diagnosis was such a shock. All I could think about was my son, I just burst into tears. But I also knew I had to get on with it. The cancer is so rare they just can’t say how long I have, only that they are treating me to prolong my life.
“One of the nurses was so helpful, he just said ‘you can beat this’ go home and put on music, do the things you enjoy, don’t lie down and give up,” he recounted.
Since his illuminating conversation with his pharmacist on February 7, and following an endoscopy on March 6, even simple activities like playing with his son Stanley, nine, and walking the dog are overwhelmingly tiring for Dave. “It all feels very scary, and it’s a constant and exhausting battle every day,” he admitted.
Having already undergone two months of chemotherapy and having commenced radiotherapy and immunotherapy, Dave battles a squamous-cell tumour in the duodenum – an exceedingly uncommon affliction, particularly considering his young age.
Explaining the rarity of his condition, he remarked: “They don’t know how I got it so young, they just said it’s ‘bad luck’.”
He says immunotherapy has good results for tackling squamous-cell tumours. He said: “After six months hopefully I’ll be in remission and looking towards Christmas and a new start.
“Unless you’ve been through something like this, you really don’t understand how precious life is. I just want as much time as I can get with my family.”