"Cancer won": Wife posts heartbreaking tribute after husband dies of cancer one month after their wedding
A man diagnosed with a rare form of cancer has died just five weeks
after his wedding and his heartbroken wife is telling of her grief at
losing the love of her life and becoming a widow at only 26.
Paul Brame, 35, was told by doctors that he had a cancer in his liver
so advanced and aggressive it was inoperable and non-curable. As
expected, he was devastated by this news but thought there might be
hope, so he and his wife Niah, 26, tried everything they could.
The couple from Chelmsford, Essex, were told their only hope was
palliative chemotherapy which could have halted or slowed the cancer's
growth. They went about raising funds for his treatment but matters only
worsened further as the tumor failed to shrink. The couple decided to
marry before the illness overcame the 35-year-old shop manager. Five
weeks after they were married, Paul's condition deteriorated rapidly.
He died on Saturday following a rapid decline in his health.
His wife revealed the news in a heartbreaking Facebook post, saying:
"It breaks my heart to have to write this a million more times than my
first post. Deep breath... here goes… On Saturday October 14 at 8.20pm,
the love of my life took his last breath which ended his pain and
suffering. Paul's health deteriorated unexpectedly very quickly soon
after I set up the fundraising. He developed further spread of the
cancer to his bones but also pneumonia and possibly sepsis
Mrs Brame has previously spoken about when Mr Brame found himself in
excruciating pain on March 18, the day that her world changed forever.
She had said: "I was woken by Paul during the early hours with cries
of excruciating pain in his right side and shortness of breath. I called
an ambulance, he was reviewed with no concerns and told to monitor.
Paul being Paul, woke up the following morning still in pain but
continued to go to work as he didn't want to let his colleagues down
even though he was doubled up in pain."
Paul,
who was a store manager and buyer at Zagger on Bond Street in London,
was in such pain he was only able to work for a few hours before coming
home. A trip to the out-of-ours GP led to the initial diagnosis of gall
stones in the liver which needed to be removed. But within 24 hours the
couple were given the earth-shattering news that Mr Brame could have
liver cancer.
Niah said: "I was standing beside Paul gripping his hand when the
consultant came into the bay, drew the curtains and told us that at aged
35 years old Paul's scans were showing signs of cancer in his liver."
The couple were told to come back the next day, with both of them
praying that there had been a terrible mistake.But when they returned to
Broomfield Hospital, Mr Brame was told that his cancer, which had not
revealed itself with any symptoms until that weekend, was incurable.
Shocked by the news, the couple went to their local pub, The Duke of
Wellington, to try to digest the news. While at the pub, Paul decided to
seize the moment to propose to Niah.
Mrs Brame said: "It was overwhelming, heart-wrenching but wonderful
at the same time. It's not how I expected it to be but it was
nonetheless amazing."
Paul and Niah had put off marriage and children so Niah could pursue
her dream of becoming a midwife but his horrifying diagnosis shocked
them into action. As they began to make plans for their wedding, Mr
Brame received another devastating update from his doctors. They told
him his full diagnosis was cholangiocarcinoma cancer of unknown primary
origin with liver metastases. This meant that the source of the disease
could not be found and had spread to the liver in such a vast amount
that it was not only inoperable, it was incurable.
Mr Brame's type of cancer is more often seen in people over the age
of 65. He was only 35. He went in for his first treatment in June where
he developed blood clots in both lungs. Shortly after being discharged,
he was back again admitted this time with pneumonia and larger clots in
his lungs.
A scan at the end of July showed the cancer had not slowed and so
another line of treatment was followed. Having been in hospital for a
week, the pair decided it was time to get married promptly, as neither
could stand the idea of him not being able to stand at the altar or
enjoy the day.
They got married on September 10 at West Street Vineyard in Coggeshall, surrounded by their family and friends.
Mrs Brame said: "It was more than I could have ever hoped it would be
because he was so well and he was able to walk and talk and enjoy
himself. I probably didn't have the normal feelings for a wedding day
but still it was incredibly humbling and I'm so grateful we were able to
do it."
With all options available on the NHS exhausted, Mrs Brame had been looking into other ways of treating her husband's illness.
She said last week: "If we could find the primary source it would
give us a better chance at fighting it with the correct stuff, so more
genetic tests need to be done that are again not offered by
NHS. Immunotherapy is one possible new treatment for cancer and is
offered through some clinical trials or private. It works by encouraging
the immune system to fight rather than chemotherapy helping the body
kill itself.'
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