A father-of-four whose only sign of deadly bowel cancer was a troubling stomach ache has died, eight months after being told he had the disease.
Kyle Ingram-Baldwin, 40, had only just launched a fundraiser on June 8 to pay for alternative treatments as he was ‘not prepared to give up’.
But in a heartbreaking post on the funding platform his wife Becky confirmed he had died on June 16.
‘Unfortunately, Kyle took a very sudden and unexpected turn and we lost him yesterday,’ she wrote.
‘He was the most incredible man I have ever met, and I know he would want me to thank everyone for all your sharing and donations.’
His death comes amid a worrying trend of younger adults being diagnosed with the devastating disease.
Mr Ingram-Baldwin, from Minster, Kent, originally sought help from his GP in October after suffering a persistent stomach ache that he suspected was linked to stress or gallstones.
But after the pain got worse he ended up attending A&E where scans revealed the true devastating cause.
An ultrasound showed worrying bulges on his liver, with a follow-up CT scan confirming these were cancer.
Further tests revealed these were secondary growths from a cancer that had originated in his bowel.
This meant the disease was already at stage-four, the final and most serious stage.
Only 10 per cent of bowel cancer patients diagnosed at stage four are alive five years later, according to Cancer Research UK.
Recalling the moment he got the news Mr Ingram-Baldwin said the mental toll was extraordinary.
‘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,’ he said.
‘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.’
Mr Ingram-Baldwin, who worked for a vending machine supplier, underwent more than half-a-dozen rounds of gruelling chemotherapy.
But, unfortunately, this failed to bring the disease under control.
Shortly before his death Mr Ingram-Baldwin spoke about how the cancer had impacted his wife, and children aged 12, nine, three and one.
‘It’s really hard to put into words, because I love my kids so much. You just worry about their future,’ he said.
‘They’ve got the best mum in the world, and I genuinely mean that. My wife’s incredible.’
He urged other patients to not dismiss signs that something isn’t right in their bodies.
‘I didn’t present with any of the conventional symptoms,’ he said.
‘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.’
Symptoms of the bowel cancer include changes in bowel movements such as diarrhoea or constipation, needing or feeling the need to empty your bowels more or less frequently, blood in stool, stomach pain, bloating, as well as unexpected weight loss and fatigue.
Stomach pain like Mr Ingram-Baldwin experienced, a lump in the stomach, bloating and fatigue are also among other common signs.
Mr Ingram-Baldwin isn’t alone in being hit by a devastating bowel cancer diagnosis as a young adult.
Experts have noted a concerning and mysterious rise in rates of the disease among young adults, defined in cancer terms as those under 50.
A recent global study found rates of bowel cancer in under 50 year-olds are rising in 27 of 50 nations.
England is averaging a 3.6 per cent rise in younger adults every year-one of the highest increases recorded.
While the disease is known linked to obesity, experts have noted that the disease also seems to also be occurring in fit and healthy patients.
Some experts believe the explanation must lie in environmental factors young people have been exposed to more than previous generations.
While no ‘smoking gun’ has been found, there are multiple theories.
These include modern chemicals in diets, microplastics, pollution, and one recent study even pinned the surge on exposure to E.coli in food.
There are around 2,600 new bowel cancer cases in people aged 25-49 in Britain every year, and around 44,100 new cases among all ages.
Around 44,000 cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK, with about 130,000 in the US.
The disease kills almost 17,000 Britons each year, with the death toll rising to about 50,000 in America.
Overall, just over half of bowel cancer patients are expected to be alive 10 years after their diagnosis.
More than £15,000 was raised in Mr Ingram-Baldwin’s drive for alternative treatments.
Mrs Ingram-Baldwin has now confirmed the amount would now be re-funded to donors.
She urged people to consider donating the money to charity or using it to ‘make memories with your families’.
