A Scots dad who went to the doctors complaining of a sore back has died of cancer just eight weeks after his diagnosis.
Malcolm MacKay, 55, from Cumbernauld, had been feeling tired and suffering from breathlessness but put his symptoms down to his asthma. On June 17, he went to A&E with back pain, and an x-ray later found a 7cm tumour.
He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and given one year to live. But the rapid growth of the tumour later forced medics to give the dad-of-two just weeks to live.
Malcolm's lungs were collapsing, so in a bid to save him from sudden death, he was offered five sessions of radiotherapy beginning on August 17. He fell unwell during his third day of treatment, and passed away two days later in the early hours of Sunday, August 21.
Childhood sweetheart and wife Gillian told the Record: "Malcolm was one of these people that never go to the doctors and he seemed to have a high pain threshold.
"So we knew it must have taken him a lot to get his back checked out. He was sent for an x-ray on June 17 and that's when they discovered he had a tumour. I think he was in more pain than he was letting on.
"He'd also been complaining that he just never felt refreshed after sleeping and that he was getting out of breath easily, which was strange because he was quite fit and did a lot of walking.
"We were told radiotherapy was high risk, but within four weeks his tumour doubled in size to 14cm and was pushing against his oesophagus. It's probable that's what caused a sudden death moment.
"It was so rapid that we just couldn't do anything to make the most of his time left. He was just so ill. When they gave him a year at first he said he wanted to go to Florence. He changed that to Arbroath when the medics told him he only had weeks left, but we didn't even get to go there - it was just that fast."
Malcolm and Gillian met when they were 17 years old and on a trip to Amsterdam in 1990 they 'jumped over the broom' as part of a long-old wedding tradition. In 2016, they made their marriage legally official at a registrar in Scotland.
Together they had two children, Joanne, 30, and Andrew, 28, as well as two young grandchildren.
Because of the rapid deterioration of Malcolm's health, Gill is struggling to pay for a funeral to give her husband the send off he deserves.
"The costs for a funeral are astronomical, it's just not possible at the moment," Gillian explained, a former nurse.
"My daughter came up with the idea of a fundraiser and the support so far has been fantastic. Around £1000 was raised in just 24 hours. People have been so kind and generous."
The family is also facing another hardship as Gillian's dad Douglas was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the same time as Malcolm.
Joanne, Malcolm's daughter, said: "Me and my partner have been planning to get married and my dad wanted to walk me down the aisle. So when we found out he had a year to live we looked to have a wedding to make sure that happened but everything just happened so quickly that we couldn't go it.
"At the same time as my dad, we found out my papa also had terminal cancer. He is well at the moment but it's a lot to be dealing with.
"We're all just going to miss my dad so much."
Malcolm was medically retired but played a huge role caring for his grandchildren and fighting the cause of socialism.
Gillian added: "He was a very clever man with an IQ of 130. He was a passionate Marxist and very involved in the Socialist Party. He just hated the way the world was and wanted everyone to have their fair share.
"We've been together for so long that I'm totally lost without him, he's all I've known.
"We still had a lot of years left together and I feel I have been robbed of that time. I just feel numb.
"He was the baby of the family and his older siblings Stuart and Joan are absolutely devastated. We're all going to miss him.
"I just want to thank everyone that has donated too."
To donate to the fundraiser, click here.
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