A 40-year-old father, who has four children, ‘didn’t present any of the conventional symptoms’ before receiving his devastating cancer diagnosis. Before his death, he urged others to get checked after he mistook one sign for stress
A father-of-four has tragically died from bowel cancer after experiencing a common symptom many people ignore.
Kyle Ingram-Baldwin, 40, from Kent, passed away on June 16, just eight months after being diagnosed with bowel cancer.
Announcing the devastating news, his wife, Becky, shared a heartbreaking post on a fundraising platform he had set up as he was “not prepared to give up.”
She wrote: “Unfortunately, Kyle took a very sudden and unexpected turn and we lost him yesterday. 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.”
Kyle initially thought his abdominal pain, which began in October, was due to stress. He and his family suspected something like gallstones, and he went to what he thought was a routine trip to the GP for a stomach ache.
He previously shared: “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.”
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The following Friday, Kyle ended up in A&E as the pain continued to worsen. An ultrasound found bulges on his liver, prompting a CT scan and a subsequent meeting with a room of doctors who delivered the heart-wrenching 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.”
Two weeks later, the devastating blow was compounded when Kyle learnt he had stage-four cancer, indicating the illness was in its advanced stages, metastasising beyond its origin.
Kyle had shared how his diagnosis had weighed heavily on his household. “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.”
The father-of-four, with children aged 12, nine, three, and one, had six rounds of chemotherapy and further targeted treatments. Sadly, despite treatment, the cancer continued to spread and affect his liver.
Before passing away, Kyle had urged others to be proactive when it came to their health. He shared: “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.”
As outlined by the NHS, symptoms of bowel cancer can include the following:
- Changes in your poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you
- Needing to poo more or less often than usual for you
- Blood in your poo, which may look red or black
- Bleeding from your bottom
- Often feeling like you need to poo, even if you’ve just been to the toilet
- Tummy pain
- A lump in your tummy
- Bloating
- Losing weight without trying
- Feeling very tired or short of breath – these are signs of anaemia, which can be caused by bowel cancer
The NHS says you should see a GP if you have any symptoms of bowel cancer for three weeks or more. Alternatively, if your poo is black or dark red or if you have bloody diarrhoea, you should ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111.