Tragedy of man who died aged 23 after stomach ache turned out to be rare cancer
A man whose stomach ache turned out to be a rare cancer has tragically died aged 23 following a gruelling battle.
Nickodemus Dacres was diagnosed with stage four medullary renal cell carcinoma (RMC) last year.
RMC is one of the rarest and most aggressive forms of kidney cancer which predominantly affects adolescents and young adults with sickle cell trait or disease.
The symptoms started when Dacres, from Croydon in south London, began suffering with stomach pain at work. However he then started to urinate blood.
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The stomach ache was a clear sign he had RMC and he was diagnosed in February of last year.
He had been in and out of hospital ever since with mum Donna Dacres, 59, who remained at his side until he tragically passed away on September 26.
"He was such a bubbly young man"
Donna explained how the chemotherapy he had been undergoing, which had left her feeling optimistic, ended up causing liver failure.
She said: “He was such a bubbly young man. He had a heart of gold and he loved to give.
“As a mum, nothing prepares you for watching your child suffer knowing there is so little you can do to take the pain away.”
Donna said that she was told this cancer is only shared by nine other people in the UK. According to the Ricky Casey Trust, the true prevalence of RMC around the world is not known.
Nickodemus started getting extreme stomach pain while on shift in July 2024 but did not think much of it.
However, when he went to the bathroom and tried to urinate, blood came out instead, and he was rushed to A&E by a colleague.
For months he went through tests until eventually a scan uncovered a small tumour in his right kidney.
The lump continued growing along with the pain, and in December 2024 surgeons decided to remove the kidney and several lymph nodes to do some tests.
But in February, doctors delivered the devastating cancer diagnosis. By the time it was discovered, the cancer had already spread beyond his kidney to his lymph nodes and lungs.
Despite chemotherapy, it continued to progress to his liver and bones, and he was relentlessly vomiting, dropping from 74kg to less than 55kg.
Donna said: “Watching that energetic, independent young man become so poorly has been absolutely heartbreaking.
Other symptoms appeared during treatment
After fundraising to afford targeted chemotherapy for the cancer, which is not routinely funded by the NHS, things started looking up and Donna thought her son would survive.
For weeks Nickodemus was no longer vomiting, and doctors said the treatment was working. But, other symptoms started appearing such as dark urine, shoulder pain, jaundiced eyes, and even black vomit.
Donna asked the doctors if something was wrong with his liver, but several scans revealed that his liver hadn’t changed.
Whilst Donna was on a church conference last week, it was the first time she had left her son.
However by Saturday morning, she had received a call from Nickodemus telling her things 'were bad'
However, the doctors called before she made it there, with the heartbreaking news that her son had passed away and that his liver had failed.
She said: “I just started to scream. I love him so much. He is my only son here, I don’t have anybody.
“I had no indication that he was going to die. The one time I left him in over two years. I went to church and he died. He died by himself."
Now the mum is raising money to cover his funeral and is encouraging other young people to get checked out.
She added: “Young black guys need to go to their GP regularly to get checked. If you notice any abdominal pain do not ignore it.”
According to the Ricky Casey Trust, RMC requires an entirely distinct medical approach because it does not respond to typically clear cell renal cell carcinoma treatments.
Common symptoms are blood in the urine, which is typically the first sign, persistent pain or discomfort in the side, back, or abdomen around the kidney area and other signs such as unexplained weight loss, a palpable abdominal mass and fatigue.
James Holt