'My husband was told his back pain was sciatica - four months later he was dead'
Share:
A grieving widow has told how her late husband waited more than nine months for a GP appointment before being diagnosed with cancer. Michelle Brady, 38, is now urging others to be more persistent with their GPs after husband Stuart, 42, died of pancreatic cancer in September. Stuart, father of Kayla, 13, Paige, 9, and Blake, 4, had been experiencing severe back pain, low mood, anxiety and changes to his bowel habits for months.
But his symptoms were misdiagnosed as the nerve condition sciatica in May 2024 by a GP over the phone, when he in fact had pancreatic cancer. Widow Michelle, of Dromara, Co Down, Northern Ireland, said: "We didn't know they were symptoms or were connected. Stuart was just so unwell and in such extreme pain he put on a brave face for Paige and Blake's birthdays in May. He was hardly able to leave the house.".
It wasn't until June 19 - nine months after his pain started - that Stuart was finally able to get an in-person GP appointment. It was then that he was diagnosed with blood clotting in his legs. Michelle said: "Stuart was very ill. He had no energy, his skin was yellow. He was sweating profusely.".
A lung scan a week later found a cancerous mass on top of his liver. Stuart was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer as well as multiple lung clots, and he was sent home with pain killers. Michelle said: "I had no idea what to do. It was very frightening for the children too. We had to tell them about daddy's cancer without even having the full information ourselves. One night, Stuart was in excruciating pain. The pain killers weren't working. Paige, our middle child, stood at the top of our stairs crying saying 'I don't want daddy to have cancer'.
