'My son had stomach ache and now they've given him less than a year to live'

'My son had stomach ache and now they've given him less than a year to live' Nickodemus Dacres went through months of tests before the devastating diagnosis was confirmed A 22-year-old man has been given less than a year to live after having stomach ache. Nickodemus Dacres has been diagnosed with stage four medullary renal cell carcinoma (RMC) - one of the rarest and most aggressive forms of kidney cancer. He started getting extreme stomach pain two years ago and was urinating blood. The poker dealer, from Croydon, south London, then went through months of tests while his condition continued to get worse. Nickodemus was eventually diagnosed with RMC on February 6 last year. He has been in and out of hospital ever since with mum Donna Dacres, 59, at his side. She said she had been told his cancer was only shared by nine other people in the UK. According to the Ricky Casey Trust, the true prevalence of RMC around the world is not known. The literature is based on small case series and individual case reports, which amount to fewer than 400 reported cases worldwide to date, the charity said. Donna said: “As a mum, nothing prepares you for watching your child suffer, knowing there is so little you can do to take the pain away. I cry every single day. When I look at my son I just can’t believe it. “He was such a bubbly young man. He lights up everywhere. It is just hard for me to even go to the hospital and look at him.” Nickodemus started getting extreme stomach pain while on shift in July 2024, but did not think much of it. However, when he went to the bathroom and tried to urinate, blood came out instead, and he was rushed to A&E by a colleague. After five days in hospital, he was released and sent back to work. For months he went through lots of tests until eventually a scan uncovered a small tumour in his right kidney, but the family still were not informed that this was cancer. The lump continued growing along with the pain and in December 2024 surgeons decided to remove the kidney and several lymph nodes to do some tests. In February, Donna said she received a call saying that she had to bring her son to the hospital as soon as possible, where he was given the devastating cancer diagnosis. The single mum, who is originally from Jamaica, said: “He was at work and he started having really bad tummy pain. They sent us to the oncology department and I didn’t even know what that was. No one in our family is ever sick. “When I asked the doctor why we were going down there he said it was stage four cancer. I was really stunned. “I am from Caribbean people and it is very rare that we deal with such a disease. I was so shocked.” By the time it was discovered, the cancer had already spread beyond his kidney to his lymph nodes and lungs. Nickodemus was sent straight into chemotherapy and doctors said that if this treatment didn’t work he would have less than a year to live. The cancer has continued to progress despite every treatment that has been offered and has since spread to his liver and bones. He has been in hospital for two months straight and is living with constant pain, severe abdominal discomfort and relentless vomiting - being unable to eat properly for weeks. Due to this, Nickodemus has dropped from 74kg to less than 55kg. Donna said: “At just 22 years old, Nickodemus should be building his future, chasing his dreams and making memories with his friends and family. Watching that energetic, independent young man become so poorly has been absolutely heartbreaking.” Nickodemus’ cancer is so rare that the targeted chemotherapy, which could help to shrink his tumours, isn't routinely funded by the NHS. Donna said they had started it as of last week, but it costs £8,000 every 28 days, adding up to a total of more than £50,000. The family has started a GoFundMe page to help him with his last hope, which has now raised more than £11,000. Donna added: “Asking for help is one of the hardest things we have ever had to do. We have always tried to face life's challenges together as a family, but this is something we simply cannot do alone. “There are only ten people in the whole of the UK who have the same cancer my son has. Less than a thousand people in the world have it. "