The man’s wife described her husband’s last year as “horrific” as he searched for answers
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NEED TO KNOW
- Liv Williams said her husband visited the doctor two dozen times in one year to get a diagnosis for his debilitating pain
- She said he was experiencing back and leg pain as well as unexplained weight loss, but he was repeatedly misdiagnosed
- Her husband was ultimately diagnosed with advanced cancer all over his body and died just 12 days later
A woman revealed that her husband visited the doctor 24 times over the course of a year before he was finally diagnosed with cancer — and he died less than two weeks later.
In an essay for Metro.co.uk, U.K. resident Liv Williams said her family's ordeal began in early 2023 when her husband, Nigel, began experiencing lower back and leg pain.
She said that Nigel saw his primary care doctor, who in turn referred him to a physical therapist.
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“We waited months for that [physio] appointment, during which time the pain worsened,” Liv said, adding that Nigel had also developed serious indigestion.
“From March to June, Nigel sought medical advice, and each time he was sent away, either empty-handed or with medication for pain or indigestion,” she recalled.
She said that they finally paid out-of-pocket for an MRI on Nigel's lower back, thinking the pain must be related to a spinal issue, but the scan revealed nothing.
By July, Liv said she was forced to take Nigel to the ER because he could not stand from the pain.
“His painful leg was getting thinner and thinner, like it was wasting away, and the pain was unbearable,” she said, adding that Nigel inexplicably dropped about 21 lbs. that summer.
“He was struggling to eat. He had become so weak that he relied on crutches. We couldn't sleep in the same bed, as he'd be writhing in pain all night. His quality of life was nonexistent,” Liv said.
She said that things came to a head just before the holidays that year.
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“Just before Christmas, I demanded a blood test from his GP – but three weeks later, a few days before the scheduled tests, Nigel couldn't urinate, which left him in agony,” she recalled.
“I called an ambulance. The ride to the ER was horrendous, and Nigel's anguish left him unable to sit in the waiting room,” she added.
Liv said that Nigel was in so much pain in the waiting area that he “begged” her to take him home and return another day. She took him home as requested, and she and her college-aged daughter drove him back in the car several days later.
“He screamed with pain on the way,” Liv said.
Liv added that a nurse immediately recognized that Nigel was in need of immediate attention and promptly set him up on a bed with an IV.
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She said it finally felt like they were “getting somewhere” but that any relief she felt was “stolen the next day.”
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Liv said they were told Nigel had cancer, and that it had spread to so many places in his body that the doctors weren't even yet sure what kind he had. There was no hope for survival and he was immediately placed into palliative care.
Liv said she remembered thinking, “Oh my God — how am I going to tell the children?”
“The kids were so brave, but telling them was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Our youngest was just 14 at the time, far too young to be losing a parent,” she said.
“The following day, we all huddled around Nigel's bed with takeout and watched a film on a portable DVD player. It was the last time we did something as a family,” Liv said.
Nigel died on Feb. 9, 2024, at age 61, surrounded by his family. His death came just 12 days after doctors told him he had cancer.
“I burst into tears, [saying], ‘I'm not ready! There are still so many things I want to ask you,' I cried – but he was gone,” Liv recalled.
Liv said she learned that Nigel had pancreatic cancer a week after his death — a type of the disease that often goes undiagnosed due to a lack of early detection tests.
Liv said that she decided to share her family's story in an effort to create awareness for a clinical trial for a breath test that could potentially serve as an early diagnostic tool for the disease.
“Nigel saw a healthcare professional 24 times, and even then, we didn't know it was pancreatic cancer. If something like the breath test had been available, maybe Nigel could have had treatment to give him more time with us,” Liv explained.
She went on to describe her husband's final year as “horrific.”
“The signs were there, but Nigel's pain was written off. His weight loss and indigestion weren't seriously considered,” she added.
“The significance of early detection is clear — not just for survival but for quality time with your loved ones following a diagnosis, when they still feel well enough to enjoy it,” Liv said.
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