I thought I was just getting old – then I was left almost paralysed after my neck suddenly SNAPPED due to cancer
A DAD-OF-TWO was left in agony and nearly paralysed in a health scare he mistook for old age that turned out to be cancer.
Simon Cummings, 53, was rushed to hospital with a broken neck and diagnosed with blood cancer after putting a loss of strength down to ageing.
Simon was chopping wood when a chip caught flew back and caught him off guard.
He said: “I jerked my neck back in reaction, heard a crack and didn’t think too much of it – until I was crying on the floor in agony a few hours later.
“Had I not gone to the hospital when I did, I would’ve at the very least been completely paralysed.
“Or worse, I may have still not been here at all.”
After the incident, the IT specialist from Bristol was offered an emergency MR scan in August 2020
His results were so extreme he was immediately rushed to hospital for an operation.
The scan had shown that Simon was “2mm away” from being completely paralysed and required surgery to stabilise him.
He added: “I couldn’t really comprehend the severity of it at the time.
“All I knew was I had a broken neck, which was very scary – but as I didn’t feel like I had a broken neck, I suppose I didn’t give the ‘what ifs’ much of a thought.
Doctors had told Simon the degree of his condition, but were unable to pinpoint the cause.
The next month they discovered it myeloma – an incurable blood cancer that occurs in bone marrow.
Simon said he was concerned about how it would affect his wife Lisa two young boys Charlie, five and Leo, one.
“It’s when you start discussing it with loved ones that you start to think about those things.
“I started to worry about not being able to provide for my family, spending time with Lisa, playing with our son and our plans to have a sibling for him.”
In order to survive Simon had to undergo chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.
In April 2021 he was declared cancer-free but unfortunately in May 2024 the cancer returned.
Simon is going through chemotherapy again and is in remission, but as myeloma cannot be fully cured he will be battling the disease forever.
What is myeloma and what are the signs you need to know?
Myeloma is an incurable blood cancer that occurs in the bone marrow and currently affects more than 24,000 people in the UK
On average 16 people are diagnosed with myeloma every day in the UK.
Despite being the third most common type of blood cancer, myeloma is especially difficult to detect as symptoms, chief among them pain, easily broken bones, fatigue and recurring infection, are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions.
While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases.
Treatment aims to control the disease, relieve the complications and symptoms it causes, increase patients’ life expectancy and improve their quality of life.
It generally leads to periods of remission, but patients inevitably relapse requiring further treatment.
Myeloma mostly affects people aged 65 and over but it has been diagnosed in people as young as 20.
What are the signs?
- bone pain
- bone fractures
- spinal cord compression
- pins and needles
- numbness
- anaemia
- repeated infections
- raised calcium levels in the blood
- unusual bleeding
- thickened blood
- kidney problems
Originally Simon thought the lack of strength in his arms was a trapped shoulder nerve.
He tried to tackle this with physiotherapy and exercise but his symptoms became more severe.
He said: “I thought something definitely wasn’t right, but I had put it down to simply getting on in life.”
Wife Lisa, 47, noticed her husbands behaviour changing, and spotted him “looking around aimlessly.”
Neither thought it would be cancer.
As Simon put symptoms down to “getting old” he now hopes to share his battle with the disease and spread awareness about how the symptoms can go unnoticed.
He added: “I just want to see my kids grow up and make sure that everything we’ve worked for over the last 30 years doesn’t get spoiled by cancer.
“There are people out there working to keep me alive and having that advocacy from Myeloma UK is invaluable.
“There’s every chance it could kill you, but you’ve got to get over the initial shock of the Big C.
“It was difficult, but you can get through it – don’t let it spoil your plans, control your decisions, or impact your future.
“Always get your symptoms checked out if you’re worried and trust your gut instinct.
“Identifying it early could help reduce the impact of myeloma before it’s too late.”