Aaron's Story

Aaron began experiencing some discomfort in his chest in early May 2025 — just four weeks before his diagnosis.

His GP believed it was pleurisy and prescribed anti-inflammatory medication.

When the pain didn’t improve and began to spread to his abdomen, doctors suspected it might be a side effect of the medication. On their advice, Aaron went to A&E, where a CT scan ruled out a pulmonary embolism but showed signs of pneumonia and some shadowing on his upper bowel.

At that stage, Crohn’s disease was suspected.

Despite antibiotics and further tests, Aaron’s pain only worsened. Two weeks later, he was struggling to walk or work. The Crohn’s tests came back negative, which felt like a relief at the time — we still believed the pain and shadowing were linked to the pneumonia or medication.

At a close friend’s wedding in France, Aaron was determined to attend; the pain became unbearable, and he spent most of the weekend in bed. When we returned home, he went back to A&E on the 10th of June. He texted me, reassuring me that it was “nothing serious” — but hoped they would “find something” because he knew something wasn’t right.

In the early hours of June 11th, Aaron called to say another CT scan had shown lesions on his liver. It was the first time I truly felt fear that it could be cancer. Later that day, we were told that there was a mass in his upper bowel, and that it might have spread to the liver — but it was still just an “if.”

A few hours later, another consultant confirmed our worst fears. The tumour was definitely cancer, it had spread extensively through Aaron’s liver, and surgery was not an option. Chemotherapy was likely to be the only treatment available. The news was devastating. Aaron’s only symptom had been pain; there had been no other warning signs.

Aaron spent the next week in Southmead Hospital, where the care he received was exceptional. I was able to stay by his side, and palliative care were brought in to manage his pain. Despite morphine and every effort, the pain was relentless. Aaron underwent a liver biopsy and had a stent fitted to help his bowel function.

On June 17th, we met with oncology to discuss chemotherapy, but we were met with more devastating news. Aaron’s liver had deteriorated too much for the original chemotherapy, and even a reduced dose was risky. The tumour was already the size of a tennis ball, and his liver was covered in cancerous nodules.

We began to realise how serious things were, but we held on to hope.

That week, we had to tell our two young boys, aged 8 and 12, that their dad was very unwell — though we reassured them that treatment was still the goal.

After being discharged home on June 28th, we hoped to find some comfort, but Aaron’s condition quickly worsened. Without hospital medication, his pain intensified. Soon after, cancer was also found in his lungs and lymph nodes. Within a week, he became jaundiced and confused. On July 9th, he was readmitted to the oncology ward at the BRI.

We were told that if his liver function tests were stable, treatment could begin. For a moment, we felt relief — but the next morning, our world fell apart. Chemotherapy was no longer an option. Aaron’s liver was failing, and we were told he had only weeks to live. The consultant explained that Aaron’s cancer carried a rare, aggressive mutation — nothing could have prevented it. It wasn’t genetic or lifestyle-related. He was simply, heartbreakingly, unlucky.

The focus shifted to making Aaron comfortable. On July 13th, he was transferred to St Peter’s Hospice, where the care was extraordinary. Surrounded by love, family, and friends, we made the most of every precious moment. We shared family time, sleepovers with the children, and peaceful moments in the hospice garden.
Just four and a half weeks after his diagnosis, on July 17th, 2025, Aaron passed away — surrounded by his family.

Thank You to the Ben Saunders foundation, from the bottom of our hearts, for giving me and our boys a much-needed break and something to look forward to during the hardest time of our lives 💕