The family of a 35-year-old man with end stage stomach cancer that was mistaken for a hernia has urged those with worrying symptoms to ‘keep pushing’ doctors for answers.
James Bainbridge, a father-of-two from Middlesbrough, started suffering severe heartburn early this year, and assumed it was nothing to worry about.
Around the same time the forklift driver noticed his weight had dropped over the course of six weeks, which he blamed on the reflux that had destroyed his appetite.
He visited a GP in February for investigations, but was told his ongoing symptoms were likely the result of a hernia.
While the most common type of hernia involves part of the bowel or stomach fat pushing through weak muscle in the abdomen, a lesser-known type is a hiatus hernia, which affects the chest.
This happens when part of the stomach moves up into the chest. Symptoms include heartburn, bad breath, bloating and difficulty swallowing.
When Mr Bainbridge’s symptoms failed to improve two months later, he went back to ‘push the doctor to find out what was going on’.
He was eventually sent for hospital tests and, in April, a PET scan revealed linitis plastica – a rare and aggressive form of stomach cancer that is often referred to by medics as ‘leather bottle stomach’.
James Bainbridge had to ‘push’ doctors for further tests after being misdiagnosed with a hernia when in fact his symptoms were caused by an aggressive type of stomach cancer
The disease affects the muscles of the stomach wall, making the organ rigid, shrunken and unable to stretch.
Sadly, by the time hospital doctors had spotted the cancer it had already ‘spread everywhere’.
Recalling the day he learned of his brother’s diagnosis, James’ twin Tom Bainbridge said: ‘It was the worst phone call. He just rang me and said Tom, I’ve got cancer and it’s everywhere.
‘I didn’t know what to say to him. He was all by himself when he found out.
‘I think that phone call will haunt me for the rest of my life.’
Mr Bainbridge is now undergoing aggressive chemotherapy, alongside immunotherapy, in an attempt to shrink the cancer.
He relies on a feeding tube for food and drink, and has spent long periods in hospital due to complications.
Tom said: ‘He looks like the pictures you see of soldiers who have been at war. He’s just a different person.’
Linitis plastica is an aggressive, difficult-to-treat type of stomach cancer that makes up between three and 20 per cent of all stomach cancers in the UK, according to studies.
Mr Bainbridge is engaged to Jessica, who he proposed to soon after his diagnosis.
Studies show that patients diagnosed with linitis plastica survive between five and 17 months
It is typically diagnosed at advanced stages and has a very bleak prognosis with most patients surviving less than 18 months after diagnosis.
The main treatments for linitis plastica are surgery, chemotherapy or targeted drugs depending on the stage of your cancer, according to Cancer Research UK.
Tom Bainbridge has set up a GoFundMe fundraising page to help cover household bills and everyday living costs as James’s life insurance doesn’t include critical illness cover.
The fundraiser has already raised £16,000 within the first week – a sum which has left James ‘blown away’.
Tom Bainbridge has issued a warning to Britons who feel ‘something’s not right’.
‘If you don’t feel right and you know something’s not right, keep pushing,’ he said.
‘They’ll say, “it won’t be cancer because of your age”, but it does happen.
‘The average age for that cancer is 70-plus, but it still happened to a 35-year-old.’
Mr Bainbridge’s story comes amid a troubling rise in stomach cancers among younger people in the UK and the US.
Although cases are falling in older people, figures show an annual two per cent uptick over the past few years in under 50s being diagnosed.
Worryingly, in half of these cases the cancer is already advanced — meaning it is ‘almost a death sentence’, with just a four per cent survival rate.
Experts have tabled a variety of explanations for the trend including the rising popularity of ultraprocessed food, an increase in bacterial infections related to food poisoning and pollution.
