'Healthy' dad-of-three given nine months to live after terminal cancer diagnosis
A fit and healthy father-of-three has been given nine months to live after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. John Robertson, 35, from Ayr, was diagnosed with Stage 4 oesophageal adenocarcinoma last month following difficulties swallowing food.
The glazier began experiencing trouble swallowing in February, which caused him to lose three stone over two and a half months whilst enduring severe chest pain similar to that of a heart attack. After visiting his GP, he was fast-tracked for an endoscopy which uncovered a bleed and a mass tumour covering 75 per cent of his oesophagus.
The cancer has since spread to numerous areas of his body including his lungs, throat, right adrenal gland and liver. Doctors informed John there was no possibility the cancer could have been detected at an earlier stage, as by the time symptoms emerged it was already too late. He may have been carrying the tumour for years.
John is crushed at the prospect of not watching his children Jorja, 15, Paris-Cole, 8, and Clay-Ty, 4, grow up or sharing a future with his partner of 11 years, Nicole, 29. Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: "It was the most devastating world-crushing news My world fell apart My kids don't deserve to lose their dad so young I want to watch them grow up and guide them through life To know I might not be here to walk my daughters down the aisle or watch my son grow into the gentleman he is already becoming is heartbreaking I don't want them to remember me as ill They ve already seen enough A future with my wife has been stolen from me I don't understand how I m dying but look the picture of health"
John is currently on an entirely liquid diet and is due to begin chemotherapy this month, with a feeding tube possibly required. He has launched a fundraising campaign to cover private medical treatments and clinical trials not currently available on the NHS, and is awaiting confirmation whether he has been accepted onto trials in Germany and London.