‘Not getting checked sooner is the biggest mistake I’ve ever made,’ says man diagnosed with terminal cancer 

Former oil rig worker, Liam Griffiths, 31, was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer after months of ‘manning up’ and pushing on, despite his symptoms. 

Liam, from Teesside, Middleborough, said: “Not getting checked sooner is the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.  

“They found my cancer at stage three advanced but if I had just gone to the doctors earlier maybe they could have caught it.” 

In March 2023, Liam began suffering with constant swelling of his stomach, chronic constipation, cramps and vomiting.  

“I was self-employed, and I needed the money, so I just kept powering through. I did what I thought a man needed to do. I was manning up,” he explained.  

Liam did not seek medical help until his manager demanded he go to the hospital in April. 

Initially, Liam was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, but after a month had gone by, he received a call from the doctors who asked him to come down to the hospital straight away.  

“As soon as they said for me to bring my mum, I knew. I don’t even remember the hospital trip, I’ve just blocked the trauma out,” he said. 

In May, Liam was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer, which is a rare form of abdominal cancer that spreads to outline of the stomach.   

He said: “I remember I asked what my life span would look like and my doctor said he doesn’t want to give me a time frame of when my life could end, because he doesn’t want me to focus my whole life around it.  

“I agreed and just decided I wanted to get home, fulfil some wishes and just live my life while I can.” 

However, due to Liam’s quick decline in health it has become really difficult for him to live the life he used to.   

Liam said: “Physically I’m a fragile man, I’m a shadow of who I was. I was the healthiest man in the world. I trained every single day, but now I can’t even walk up the stairs without breaking a sweat. 

“I am literally living the worst type of life I could have ever imagined. It’s horrible. Mentally it’s taken it out of me. Physically it’s taken it out of me.  

“Even with Christmas coming up, I used to love Christmas shopping, but I’m not getting any enjoyment out of that anymore. It’s killed everything for me.” 

Unfortunately, the chemotherapy treatment available on the NHS is no longer working for Liam and he is now paying for private treatment, scans and medicine in a bid to prolong his life and beat the cancer.  

Through the help of his friend, Eve Bannatyne, daughter of Dragon’s Den star, Duncan Bannatyne, they have raised over £18,000 for Liam on JustGiving.  

On his JustGiving page, Eve said: “He is bravely battling terminal cancer at just the age of 31 and we urgently need support to access medicine to ease his pain and hopefully prolong his life.  

“Liam has shown incredible strength and resilience throughout this challenging journey and has the biggest heart. He doesn’t deserve to go through any of this. 

“Every donation, no matter how small, can make a world of difference.” 

Liam desperately wants to drive the North Coast 500 in Scotland with his dad.  

“I just want to make sure we have those key memories together before I maybe have to go,” he said.  

Liam desperately wants his own story to be used as a lesson for other men to stop ignoring their symptoms and to get checked.  

“I want to push this message because if just one or two people go to the hospital and get checked because of my mistake and my story that would be amazing,” he said. 

Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager of JustGiving said: “Liam is an incredible young man and we at JustGiving are in awe of his bravery. 

“Not only has he found the strength to battle this horrible disease, but he also raising much needed awareness to encourage other men to get themselves checked, by sharing his own story.” 

To donate to Liam’s JustGiving page, click here. (https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Liam-Griff) 

NOTES TO EDITOR

For further information contact  press@justgiving.com

About JustGiving
JustGiving is the world’s most trusted platform for online giving. We help people raise money for the charities and people they care about the most. In 2000, JustGiving.com began with one simple goal – to enable charities to receive donations online from anywhere in the world. Fast forward 23 years and over $9 billion has been raised for good causes in almost every single country in the world.

JustGiving became part of Blackbaud, the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good in 2017.

To note – JustGiving does not charge a fee on donations but instead operates a voluntary contribution model, meaning people donating can choose to leave a ‘tip’ if they wish. The only non-optional fee is a 1.9% + 30p to cover card payment charges.