Man died eight months after getting terminal cancer diagnosis despite ‘having no signs’
Warning: This article contains discussion of cancer which some readers may find distressing.
A woman has told of the 'surreal moment' that a doctor delivered the news that her husband had terminal cancer, despite him not displaying 'any signs' of battling the disease.
Jon Hough, 47, sadly passed away on 24 March last year, just eight months after he was diagnosed.
The father-of-four's heartbroken widow, Jemma, has now opened up about how they were both blindsided by test results which revealed he had stage four cancer, as he didn't experience any common symptoms.
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She explained that her late husband, who hailed from Liverpool, didn't pick up on any red flags that suggested he was gravely unwell.
Jemma, a property sourcer from North Bedfordshire, said that although Jon had experienced some unexplained aches and pains, cancer never crossed their minds.
"He wasn’t old, we didn’t expect it and we didn’t have any signs," she said.
The couple met when they were just teenagers and got together three years later, before later tying the knot in September 2008.
Jemma, 42, explained that her other half enjoyed staying active by playing football and golf, but Jon suddenly started to gain some weight in March 2024.
As well as this, he started to complain of stomach pain - but as he had never suffered any major health problems and otherwise seemed well, the couple weren't too concerned.
"He didn’t have any signs [of cancer] whatsoever,” Jemma recalled. "He’d put on some weight, but he was getting to middle age, so we just thought maybe we need to rein it in and look at diets and be more healthy.
"But really, there was nothing that was ‘telling’ until he started getting some stomach pain."
Jon then decided to seek medical advice to get to the bottom of what he thought were minor ailments, seeing him submit both blood and stool samples.
But when the results of these came back as normal, he and Jemma assumed that a food intolerance might be the source of his stomach pain.
A scan then subsequently revealed he had fluid on his stomach, however, Jon's widow claims that doctors informed them that 'cancer was very unlikely'.
The dad then had an endoscopy as well as a biopsy, before he received the dreaded call to come in for a chat with a medic, who then informed Jon that he had cancer in July 2024.
Jemma explained that a PET scan revealed that he had stage 4 terminal cancer of unknown primary - meaning medics don't know where it started - which was believed to be centred around his stomach.
Reflecting on how doctors delivered this devastating news, she said: "It was a surreal moment, because we were sitting in there and you see your partner just broken in that moment, then you’re broken.
"But then you automatically turn into a supporter. I was just hugging Jon and, at that point, we didn’t know exactly the severity of his condition, but there was a discussion about timings.
"They said, if he responds well to chemotherapy he could go on, but if he doesn’t, it could be weeks, a month."
Jon began a course of chemotherapy a couple of weeks later, which Jemma said was initially like 'magic juice' for him as it gave him a much-needed boost.
But unfortunately, this didn't last for long as he soon began experiencing severe nausea and vomiting, forcing him to carry a device around with him which 'constantly pumped anti-sickness drugs' into his body.
Friends and family launched a GoFundMe to help Jon and his loved ones create some special memories in the time that he had left, but by January last year, he was 'mentally checked out'.
At the end of the following month, he was then left 'devastated' after health experts informed him that the chemotherapy was no longer working.
"As time progressed, he was just exhausted and he’d had enough near the end," Jemma said.
In March 2025, Jon sadly passed away after spending his final few weeks at the Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice in Bedfordshire. His body was donated for medical research and training at Nottingham University Hospital.
His widow has said she is still trying to find her feet in the 'whole new world' she now lives in as a single parent and widow.
However, Jemma said her heartbreaking experience has reminded her that 'we don’t know how long we’ve got' - so she abides by the mantra that 'life is for living'.
"We’ve got to take all those opportunities," she said. "I’m fortunate enough to have time now, and I want to make sure that I do good with it and enjoy it."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Olivia Burke