Actor Tim Roth 's musician son Cormac Roth sadly died at the young age of 25 after being diagnosed with stage 3 germ cell cancer in November last year.
“He died peacefully in the arms of his family who loved and adored him,” the family wrote of his tragic death.
"He fought with incredible bravery for the past year and maintained his wicked wit and humour to the very end.”
Germ cell cancer is when germ cells - the cells that develop into sperm and eggs - grow tumours.
As such, early symptoms of the disease can be found in a person’s testicles or their stomach.
What is germ cell cancer?
“Germ cell tumours most often develop in the ovary or testicle because this is where most germ cells are,” explains Cancer Research UK.
During pregnancy when a baby is developing, the cells producing eggs or sperm move to the ovaries or testes.
But in germ cell cancer, they can settle in other parts of the body where they could form tumours.
Germ cell tumours may develop in the testicles, ovaries, chest, the back of the stomach, brain or a person’s lower spine.
Who’s most at risk?
Germ cell cancer is rare in children but more common in adolescents or young adults, specifically between the ages of 15 to 19.
Germ cell tumours can appear at any age, however.
Familial testicular germ cell tumours have been noted in the past.
However, there have only been a few cases reported where both brother and sister of the same family suffered from germ cell malignancies.
Other risk factors include any adolescent with:
- Cryptorchidism (which is when a child has an undescended testicle)
- Turner syndrome, which is a genetic condition when a girl is born with a missing X chromosome
- Intersex conditions, such as androgen insensitivity syndrome
- Klinefelter’s syndrome, which is when a man is born with an extra X chromosome.
Symptoms of germ cell cancer
A testicle of an unusual shape or size or experiencing pain in the tummy could be early signs of the disease.
Other early indications may include:
- Constipation or trouble holding pee
- Leg weakness.
Cormac had bravely shared his harrowing cancer battle in an Instagram post detailing his journey with high-dose chemo, medication, transplants, transfusions and surgeries.
Despite all his efforts, he said the disease “managed to stay many steps ahead of me no matter what I throw at it”.
“It has taken away half of my hearing, 60 pounds of weight, my confidence, and will continue its murderous path until I can manage to stop it somehow, and kill it,” he added.
“But it hasn’t taken away my will to survive, or my love of making music.”
Cormac added the importance of reaching out if you or someone you love is affected by cancer, adding: “Please feel free to reach out for it is an emotional rollercoaster unlike anything else.
"Life is short. It is chaos. And you never know when it’s going to be you.”
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