Man ‘lost all the blood in his body’ after £1.2k holiday ended horrifically
A man who headed on holiday to celebrate being cancer-free has told how he 'lost every bit of blood in his body'.
Back in March, Peter Beetham splashed out £1,250 on a trip to Gran Canaria with his girlfriend and a pal after finishing three years of chemotherapy.
But the getaway he had been dreaming of while undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer ended prematurely, as he was forced to fly back to the UK while in grave danger.
The 39-year-old said doctors 'didn't how how he was alive' when he rocked up to Manchester Royal Infirmary fresh off the plane from Gran Canaria.
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Peter explained he jetted off to the holiday hotspot on 13 March with his partner Charlene Hickman and one of his friends to celebrate the fact he 'had just beaten cancer'.
"I was six months clear from cancer and I thought I would go away for a week," the dad, from Cheshire, said. "I had surgery to have my pancreas removed, which is where the cancer was.
"We couldn't wait to get away. I was on chemo for three years, so it's been a while."
However, he began to feel unwell while lounging around the pool on the second day of his holiday - and he then suddenly 'spewed up a litre of blood'.
"I went to the toilet and took three steps and collapsed," Peter said of the terrifying medical episode.
Hotel staff called an ambulance and the tourist was then taken to a nearby hospital. Peter said that doctors seemed to think there was 'nothing wrong with him' and informed him it was probably 'sunstroke'.
"I knew it wasn't a sunstroke because I had been there two days and I wasn't even out in the sun," the dad said, while explaining that he was also 'drinking plenty of water'.
He was discharged and instructed to rest, but his condition then worsened overnight.
"I woke up the next morning and went to the toilet seven times and there was constant blood coming out the back of me," Peter explained. "We thought it's not right. We flew home the next day."
Peter booked a £50 flight and headed home on 15 March, before rushing straight to Manchester Royal Infirmary. Medics then informed him that he was experiencing internal bleeding.
This was believed to have been the result of an ulcer 'exploding' in Peter's bowel, which was a result of the surgery he had to remove his pancreas in August 2025.
"I had four cameras down on me, the first three couldn't find anything and the fourth one they found the ulcer," the Brit explained.
'Even the flight back could have killed me'
"They left a little bit of pancreas in there it caused an ulcer to grow around my bowel and it blew up," Peter said. "I had seven blood transfusions and a small operation.
"I was feeling awful, they said I should have been dead at the side of the pool. They said even the flight back could have killed me. They didn't know how I was alive."
Thankfully, the former landscaper says he is 'now on the mend'. Reflecting on his ordeal, he added: "It was horrific, I'm very lucky to be alive."
But he did admit that losing what he described as 'every bit of blood' in his body during his holiday did spoil the celebratory trip - however, he's very glad he made the call to come back home.
"We didn't feel safe there with all the blood coming out of me," Peter explained.
"I literally lost every bit of blood in my body, I was dead," he went on. "I'm very lucky.
"It ruined the holiday. As soon as I started spewing blood I went white, my lips went crystal clear, I thought I was going to die on the side of the pool."
The father-of-two will soon return to hospital for further scans and another iron transfusion - and he says he has got no plans to book another holiday after his recent ordeal.
"I'm too scared to plan another holiday," Peter said. "Luckily, nothing happened on the flight."
Olivia Burke