Dad's symptoms were written off as anxiety - weeks later he got terminal diagnosis
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A “selfless and loving” dad whose worrying symptoms were dismissed by his GP as anxiety died of lung cancer weeks later. Liam Handley had been experiencing chest pains and so made an appointment with his doctor, but it was put down to stress. When they did not subside, he returned but each time his medication was increased further. Months later, it was revealed dad of four Liam had lung cancer, which would go on to kill him in a matter of weeks.
The shock diagnosis was only made when the family decided to pay for a private CT scan - nine months after his initial consultation. Liam’s mother, Lynn, told MEN : “We were all devastated. We were told they did not expect Liam to live for more than five to six weeks.
“We were also so angry. It had taken so long – around nine months - to get the diagnosis, precious months that could have made a difference to Liam’s prognosis and given us more time with our beautiful boy. We will never forget that day – 25th August 2020. Liam was diagnosed with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma – metastases to his liver, spine, and lymph nodes. He also had a fracture to his pelvis and collapse of his T2 vertebrae.
“Liam did not fit the stereotypical lung cancer patient, he was young, non-smoker, not overweight and relatively fit. It certainly wasn’t in our heads. But it wasn’t in the GP’s either, and herein lies the problem.”. Despite the initial prognosis, Liam reacted well to the treatment. After 12 weeks of wearing the spinal brace, he was able to remove it and start to gently walk again. In December 2020, Liam married his long-term partner Louise and life started to almost return to normal.
