THIS is the heartbreaking moment cancer surgeons realise they won’t be able to save a young dad’s life.
NHS consultants had been hoping to remove a tumour from Cameron O’Connor’s stomach before they discovered his cancer had spread more than they realised.
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The emotional scenes were filmed as part of Channel 4’s Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life, which returns for a new series tonight (Tues).
The first episode follows Cameron, 42, and his wife Jo, 47, who are parents to nine-year-old daughter, Ava.
Professor David Nicol, Chief of Surgery at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital and Consultant Urological Surgeon, is leading the team treating Cameron whose cancer originated in the testicles.
After finding that his tumour has entwined with the bowel, Prof Nicol calls in colleagues to consult with them as to whether he should halt the surgery.
Cameron passed away four months after the operation, at the end of February this year, having just turned 43.
In the operating theatre, Prof Nicol tells the TV cameras: “This might be worse than I thought it was. It’s into the small bowel.
“Essentially he’s got infiltration of tumour into the blood supply to his small bowel.
“We’d need to resect completely remove the small intestine which then leaves you with very little gut.
“That has very profound consequences in the people unable to feed, you’re stuck on having to have intravenous fluids as feeding because you don’t have enough small bowel to absorb nutrients.
“You need to be connected to a machine for several hours every day. What we’re seeing now really profoundly changes the circumstances.”
After calling off the surgery and breaking the bad news to Cameron, a clearly devastated Prof Nicol says: “Knowing when to stop is a really important part of surgical decision making.
“It’s not an outcome that certainly Cameron would have wanted and he, his wife and family obviously are now confronted with a very different situation with what they hoped for.
“But not proceeding with Cameron’s operation was the right thing to do.”
Later, Cameron wakes up to find out the operation was not successful with his wife, Jo, by his side.
‘We were devastated’
Keen to honour his wish to raise awareness, his brave wife told The Sun about Cameron’s horrendous rollercoaster journey.
Telling Ava was the most difficult thing. We had always said ‘Daddy was having treatment to get better’.
Jo
Still grieving, Jo said: “It’s very hard to get your head around it and in all honesty, I don’t think Cam ever accepted it. He felt like if he did, he was giving up.
“Even right at the end, he thought he could beat it. That was his amazingly positive attitude.
“We were both devastated when we were told the surgery couldn’t be performed.
“Up until that point, we had always had something else to try to give us hope but we knew then that was no longer the case.
“There was nothing else to try and it left us in a very different scenario of looking at end of life.
“Telling Ava was the most difficult thing. We had always said ‘Daddy was having treatment to get better’.
“I thought we would send her world crashing down when we had to then tell her, ‘Daddy wasn’t going to get better’.”
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Cameron was originally diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2005 at the age of 24.
Testicular cancer most commonly affects men aged 15 to 49.
In the UK, 2,350 men are diagnosed every year and 65 sadly die.
Cameron was treated by having the affected testicle removed.
But 12 years later, in 2017, during his honeymoon in Cape Verde, he found another lump in the other testicle.
He had this one removed too but in early 2021, scans showed a tumour growing in a lymph node at the back of his stomach.
Last chance op
Over the next three years, Cameron underwent several gruelling courses of chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants which led to him falling ill with sepsis three times.
By October 2023, tests showed cancer tumour markers were higher than they’d ever been and Cameron was referred from his local hospital, Mount Vernon, to London’s Royal Marsden Hospital.
After consulting his scans, Prof Nicol was hopeful an operation to remove the tumour in the stomach could work.
By chance, Channel 4’s film-makers, Wonderhood Studios, were filming Prof Nicol as he performed life-saving operations.
Keen to raise awareness to help others, Cameron agreed for his surgery to be filmed.
But he and his family were told there were no more treatment options, only chemotherapy to try and give him extra time.
The longer he is now no longer with us, the harder it gets. The grief hits me every day
Jo
Prof Nicol tells viewers: “Aggressive attempts to remove all of the tumour would adversely affect his quality of life.
“We’ve been unable to cure him of a disease which is not common but certainly occurs in a number of young men with testicular cancer.”
Jo, who works as a deputy director of performance for NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, said their last ever Christmas together was very tough.
She said: “He had started the chemo to try and give us more time but he was very poorly with it.
“But he was determined to enjoy Christmas Day and he did. I found it very hard though as I knew it was our last Christmas together.”
In his final few months, Cameron received care at home by his local Isabel Hospice.
They were also able to give the couple advice on how to break the devastating news to their daughter, Ava.
Jo said: “Right from the moment she was born, Cam was such a hands-on dad. During lockdown, he home-schooled her as I was working for the NHS full time and they had such quality time together.
“But children are very resilient and I am in total awe of Ava in how she has coped.
“She was obviously incredibly upset when we told her, but she has been so strong.”
Keeping Cameron’s legacy alive
Admitting she has found it incredibly hard to process his death, Jo said she takes comfort in knowing how lucky she was to have met Cameron 12 years ago on a night out near their home in Hertfordshire.
She said: “We both always knew when we met each other that we had found ‘the one’.
“He was always so positive, always looking to find out what the next steps were that he could take throughout this horrendous journey and everyone who met him always said what an inspiration he was and how much they loved him.
“I feel lucky to have had 12 amazing and special years with him.
“The longer he is now no longer with us, the harder it gets. The grief hits me every day but being back at work part-time now is helping.”
On Father’s Day, Jo said she and Ava spent a quiet day looking at photographs of Cam and going through a memory box they had created for his daughter to always remember him by.
She said: “We have his ashes with us at home, which is where he wanted to be. We’ve put a rose in the garden too.
“We spent Sunday looking through the memory box and photographs as we wanted to mark the day. He was the most amazing daddy.”
Symptoms of testicular cancer
The most common sign is a lump or swelling on one of your testicles, which is normally about the size of a pea.
Not all testicular lumps are cancerous, while only four per cent of scrotal lumps are, but you should still always get your GP to take a look.
Here are the signs to look out for:
- A lump or swelling in the testicle
- A heavy scrotum
- A dull ache or sharp pain in the testicles and scrotum
- A feeling of heaviness in the scrotum
- A difference in the texture or increase in firmness of the testicle
- A difference between one testicle and the other
To know if you have any signs of changes in your testicles, it’s important to know what feels normal.
It’s a good idea to have a hot shower before checking them, then gently roll your testicle between your thumb and finger.
Then repeat for the other testicle.
Repeat this every week so you get a feel for their shape and siz
Whilst the new TV doc detailing why the surgery wasn’t possible is a very ‘hard watch’, Jo said she is determined to keep Cameron’s legacy alive by doing everything she can to raise awareness.
“I found it difficult watching it as there is also footage of us going for a nice family walk with our two dogs,” she said.
“To think this was only last October and we were doing normal things that we loved is a hard watch.
“But sadly, we had the odds against us.
“I know how important it was to Cam to get the message out there to keep yourself as fit and healthy as possible, even just taking small steps to improve your fitness could help if you face a diagnosis.
“And get yourself checked. His message would be ‘don’t be embarrassed’. And if you are diagnosed with something, do try to remain as positive as possible and put trust in the process.
“Cam always trusted the process and our doctors have been amazing throughout.
“I will never forget how all the amazing people we met working on the frontline for the NHS and at the hospice, helped to try and make a difference to not only Cam but to us as a family when we needed it. They went above and beyond to try and help…”
*Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life airs tonight (Tues 18) at 9pm on Channel 4. Episodes can also be downloaded on www.channel4.com
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