A “HEALTHY” dad has died just two weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
Simon Atkins felt bloated and nauseous, but doctors assured him he was simply constipated and nothing to worry about.
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Simon Atkins passed away just two weeks after being diagnosed with appendix cancerCredit: Sara Atkins
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Father of two children, 46, with wife Sara Credits: Sara Atkins
He was given laxatives and told he would feel better in a few days.
But the 46-year-old soon became ice-cold and vomited every time he ate, and lost so much weight that he was “skin and bones”.
Simon was eventually diagnosed with appendicitis – but by then it was too late.
The father of two had two to 26 weeks to live, and died two weeks later.
His family wants to use his story to educate others about the symptoms to look out for so their loved ones aren’t next.
Simon’s wife Sara told The Sun: “I want people to know they need to get tested if they feel bloated or show any other signs.
“Simon was just being transferred from pillar to post and no one knew. The doctors were just rejecting him.
“If I can help anybody, then something good has come out of what happened.”
Simon first noticed something was wrong in October 2023.
He was in Tenerife during the semester with Sara, their children Lucie (13) and Jacob (11), as well as Sara’s mom, dad, brother and his wife.
Sun Health Explainer: What is cancer?
They were at an all-inclusive resort, where Simon was supposed to dig into the buffet and enjoy the open bar like everyone else.
But he wasn’t.
“He was just not himself,” Sara said.
“By the way, everyone likes a few drinks and all the free food, but he just didn’t want any of it.
“He was complaining of being bloated, constipated and getting a bit of acid reflux.”
Being the ‘tough guy’ he was, Simon ‘pushed through’ the Spanish holiday.
“He took some lansoprazole and just got on with it, because that’s the kind of person he was,” Sara said.
And he did the same when they returned home to Shepshed, Leicestershire. “He just kept going,” added Sara.
But his condition worsened and soon he became visibly unwell.
Sara said: “He was never sick. He never had a day off sick in his life.
“But one day he came home on a motorbike and couldn’t take his boots off; he couldn’t bend down because he was so bloated.
“He actually looked nine months pregnant.
– He didn’t eat much, he didn’t drink at all, he just wasn’t in his right mind.
I watched him disappear and it broke my heart every day
Wife Sara Atkins
Unable to watch him suffer any longer, Sara took Simon to their GP, who suggested he try laxatives.
Yes, but he was getting worse, so they went to the doctor’s office.
“Every time we’d see a different doctor, and they’d just say, ‘You’re constipated, here’s some laxatives. You’ll be fine in a few days,'” Sara said.
“That went on for five weeks.”
And then, at the beginning of December, things took a real turn.
“He was lying in the living room and he was very cold,” said Sara.
“He was 6ft 5in tall, built, with a lot of muscle on him – he was a healthy guy – but he had just lost so much weight.
“He was in an army sleeping bag and wearing a hat and gloves, and I said, ‘It’s not even cold.’
“I’m always cold and I was sweating. The heating was on and I was sweating. I thought, ‘This is not right.’
“I just said, ‘I have to get you to the ER now because this is just ridiculous’. He was just losing it.”
‘The world fell apart’
Sara took her husband to Leicester Royal Infirmary, where they discovered his weight had dropped to around 12st 10lbs.
The doctors then broke the news that he might have cancer and that they had to keep him.
The next day, the couple’s “world collapsed”.
“I went to see him and he was just crying. I’ve never seen him cry,” Sara said.
“He just said, ‘I don’t want to leave you and the kids.’
“This is not something you plan, and it just got worse after that.”
Over the next few weeks, they were told he had “cancer of unknown primary” (CUP), meaning the disease was found in his body, but doctors couldn’t figure out where it started.
It wasn’t until late January that they discovered it started in his appendix, which is rare.
It affects about one in every 500,000 people, according to CancerNet.
Symptoms of appendix cancer
CANCER that starts in the appendix is rare and affects about one in every 500,000 people.
It is most common in people in their 50s, but it can happen at any age.
The main symptoms include:
- Appendicitis
- flatulence
- Stomach pain
- Diarrhea and/or constipation
- Fluid in the abdomen
- Increased waist size
- Pelvic pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Infertility
Source: CancerNet and Cleveland Clinic
Simon’s stomach leaked fluid and was in and out of the hospital for weeks.
Sara said his entire intestine and stomach were so squished with fluid that doctors couldn’t even do a colonoscopy to see his insides.
“He was so weak up to this point,” Sara said.
“He couldn’t eat, he literally didn’t sleep, and he was vomiting.
“If he tried to eat, he would just throw up.
“I watched him disappear and it broke my heart every day.
“He was so hungry, but like he was starving.”
In his final weeks, Sara cooked him all his favorite meals – even though he couldn’t always digest them.
And for one of their last meals, to celebrate their upcoming 10-year wedding anniversary, she made him a steak dinner.
On January 29, they met with their consultant, who said Simon needed an operation to remove the stomach lining.
This would have to be done at another hospital in the UK, followed by chemotherapy.
‘I don’t want to be challenged anymore’
“Simon was sitting there asking how likely he was to survive any of it and the doctor said the chances were low,” Sara said.
“You only had to look at Simon, he was just skin and bones at this point.
“He said, ‘I don’t want that. I don’t want to be induced anymore. I don’t want to have surgery again.’
“Simon asked how long he would have stayed if he had just stayed at home and the doctor said two weeks until the summer if he was lucky.
“And he was so right because he died two weeks later on February 11.”
The mum-of-two now wants everyone to be aware of the symptoms of appendicitis so that no other family has to go through the pain she has.
“He wasn’t bad before, nothing was wrong with him, then we went on vacation and it was like I was dreaming,” she said.
“I wake up and realize that he’s gone and that I’ve lost him.
“I don’t know where Christmas went, I don’t know where New Year went.
“It’s almost March and I just don’t know where the time has gone.
“We had our whole lives ahead of us. We will miss him every day.
“There are no words to express how I feel and how unfair it was to all of us.
“Simon, you are our world, our everything.”
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Family on holiday in Tenerife when his first symptoms appeared Credit: Go Fund Me
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Sara and Simon at the airport for their trip Credit: Sara Atkins
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The couple with daughter Lucie, now 13, and 11-year-old son Jacob Credit: Sara Atkins
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Simon first experienced bloating and constipation while abroad in October 2023 Credit: Sara Atkins
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Sara described her husband as a ‘6ft 5in healthy guy’ Credit: Sara Atkins
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The couple were due to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary in March 2024. Credit: Sara Atkins
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Before he died, Simon told his wife: ‘I don’t want to leave you and the children’ Credit: Sara Atkins
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