A man discovered that he has stage four cancer, and an estimated 12 months to live, all because he struggled to eat a sandwich.
Des Longstaff was helping a friend with some yard work when their partner brought them lunch — bacon and sausage sandwiches. But Longstaff had trouble getting it down.
“It sort of got lodged in my esophagus, and I had a good pint of water, but it still wouldn’t budge. It was to the point where you’re thinking you’re choking. I thought to myself, ‘Am I not chewing it properly?’ ” the landscaper, 39, told BristolLive.
He eventually went to a doctor who recommended an endoscopy, but before it could even be performed, Longstaff, the father of a 5-year-old son, began vomiting blood. He went to the hospital on Christmas Eve, and doctors found a tumor that was over a foot long.
He was later diagnosed with advanced stage four esophageal adenocarcinoma, which has since spread to his liver, making it difficult to treat.
Longstaff said that, according to the National Health Service (NHS) in England, he has just 12 months to live. The American Cancer Society, which uses data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to estimate survival rates, provided a similar prognosis.
Longstaff is currently undergoing an immunotherapy treatment to keep the aggressive cancer from spreading anymore, as well as a light form of chemotherapy. He said, however, “It is palliative, and it is to keep me comfortable, so I don’t die straight away.”
According to Longstaff and his mother, Tracy MacCormiac, there are doctors in Germany who believe they can treat the cancer and give him an estimated five more years with his son.
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Longstaff told BristolLive, “They have one of the best treatment plans over there, and there is no such thing as ‘terminal.’ If you are terminal, you are riddled with it, but I’m not.”
“It has stayed localized, and at the moment, I have two small dots, and they are going to turn into tumors if I am not careful. So the idea is to go to Germany, where they are going to target the liver,” he added.
Longstaff’s mother has since started a GoFundMe to raise money for her son’s treatment and potential travel to Germany.
She wrote on the fundraising platform, “Your generosity will ease the financial strain and, more importantly, show Des that he is not alone in this fight. [His most recent doctor’s] appointment opened Des’s eyes to the harsh reality of his diagnosis, and for the first time, I saw fear and hopelessness in his eyes.”
“Together, we can help Des face this challenge and give him the best possible chance to overcome this devastating disease,” MacCormiac added.
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