Mal Nash, 42, had been suffering back pain for six months when he went to the doctor after it became too painful to ignore
A man was left paralysed from the chest down after experiencing back pain. Mal Nash, 42, had been suffering back pain for six months when he went to the doctor after it became too painful to ignore.
He was told it was nerve pain and “sent home with painkillers”, but he continued to “seize up” and was losing his ability to walk. After two more trips to A&E, an MRI scan diagnosed Mal with a form of testicular cancer called metastatic seminoma.
The cancer had spread, making its way into his spine between the T6 and T7, causing his week of slow paralysis. By the time of the diagnosis, his entire body from the chest down was completely paralysed – and he has now been told it is likely “lifelong”.
His twin brother, Kevin, 42, a window cleaner, from Newton Abbot, Devon, said: “He had a pain in his back that went straight up into his chest, and then pain in his shoulder. It was horrendous, I couldn’t even describe it. It was awful to see him like that, you always see it happen to other people and never expect it to happen to you.”
Mal, an aspiring business owner, started getting back pain in April 2025, but put it down to years of factory work. He finally went to the doctor in September, but was sent home with painkillers, his brother said.
Kevin said: “He was prescribed these painkillers and he took that as gospel, as you would – it’s the doctors. Then he started to seize up and he couldn’t get off the sofa or up the stairs, so we called 111.”
After spending hours in A&E, Mal was discharged with a referral to a physiotherapist, despite his deteriorating ability to walk.
Kevin said: “They didn’t even want to scan where the pain was and just sent him away. We got back home and decided to go back to the emergency rooms that day. It just kept getting worse, he couldn’t even walk when we got home.”
Upon further examination, doctors discovered that Mal had a compression in his spinal cord. This led to an MRI scan in September, which resulted in a cancer diagnosis and the revelation that it had caused his paralysis.
Kevin said: “He was really excited about his work. He used to work factory jobs and only recently set up his own carpentry business. He just worked through his back pain.”
In a desperate bid to restore motor function below his chest, Mal underwent an emergency operation on his spine, but sadly, the surgery was unsuccessful.
Kevin said: “He came out and we were told it didn’t work. Now he has just been put on rounds of chemo. He won’t be able to move now, but hopefully the cancer will go. He used to love BMX sports and was cracking on with his new business; it’s just awful.”
To help his brother, Kevin has started a GoFundMe campaign with the aim of raising funds to make their house more accessible.
He added: “You never expect it to happen to you. We live together, so I am trying to raise some money as the house will need to be more accessible now. We are just trying to take it day by day.”
Approximately 2,400 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed in UK men annually. With no national screening programme for the disease in place, Kevin emphasises the importance of regular self-checks.
He said: “It is so important to check these things. If you do you can catch the early signs and not be in the place as my brother. Check yourself regularly, it is so important.”