18 hours ago
'I went to doctor with stomach ache - then got devastating diagnosis'
Dad-of-four Kyle Ingram-Baldwin, 40, said he went to the GP with stomach pains but received a devastating diagnosis just weeks later - he has called for people to get checked if something doesn't feel right
A father-of-four went to the GP with a stomach ache but he received a devastating diagnosis just weeks later.
Kyle Ingram-Baldwin, 40, said he went to the doctor in October after suffering with abdominal discomfort for a couple of weeks. The dad, from near Ramsgate, in Kent, said he suspected the pain was stress-related and the family had thought his diagnosis would be gallstones, but his health ordeal would only just start. Kyle, who has children aged 12, 9, 3, and 1, was told he had stage-four bowel cancer and has since undergone 6 rounds of chemotherapy and another more targeted course.
Despite these efforts, his cancer has not gotten under control and it has since spread to his liver. Kyle has insisted he is "not prepared to give up" and more than £13,000 has already been raised towards finding alternative treatments - even if that means going abroad.
The dad shared the details about the start of his ordeal and said: "I didn't think a lot of it, but I thought I'd better get it checked out. I went to see my local GP and he thought it was something stress-related, as I'm sure you would at my age. The suspicion at the time was gallstones, which obviously it wasn't."
The following Friday, Kyle ended up in A&E as the pain continued to worsen. An ultrasound found bulges on his liver, and a CT scan followed, before he was called into a room of doctors to receive the devastating news. He recalled: "They told me that I've got cancer that's spread. I was like, wow, okay. I didn't expect that, but you know, it is what it is."
Kyle was heartbreakingly told he had stage-four cancer just two weeks later, which meant the disease was at an advanced stage and had spread to other parts of his body.
The dad-of-four said the disease had put a huge strain on his family, saying: "I was thinking, what's going on here? What have I done wrong? I was putting the blame on my own feet and worrying about the future for my wife and kids.
"That's probably the hardest thing - the mental side. Don't get me wrong, the physical is not funny either, but it's a mental challenge."
Kyle has helped to run the Men's Mental Health Support Talking Football project in Minster, near Ramsgate, which has been a great help. He says his employer Automatic Retailing - a wholesale supplier for vending machines - has been "amazing" but the Liverpool fan has been left with gruelling side effects.
He spent two nights in a hospital corridor with a suspected infection, and suffers from ascites - a build-up of fluid in the abdomen. Kyle is currently not on any active treatment - something he finds worrying - but has another round planned. However, doctors have admitted they do not know if it will work.
The dad has encouraged other people to make sure they get checked out if something doesn't feel right. He said: "I didn't present with any of the conventional symptoms. If you think anything's wrong, please press your GP and go get it checked, because I genuinely wouldn't want anyone being in my position."
A GoFundMe with a target of £50,000 has now been started to look into private treatments and second opinions. He said: "I've looked into costs on things. Depending on how specialist the doctor you see is, it can cost up to £700 for a second opinion alone.
"I'm looking into getting alternative treatments in different areas that aren't in Kent - places like Royal Marsden and London hospitals, and Cambridge. Then there's even potentially going abroad for treatment."
