Airdrie dad, 37, thought neck was broken before finding out he had actually had incurable cancer

Alex Stangoe was hillwalking when he tripped and instantly knew he had “done some damage”.

He attended Monklands Hospital for a neck scan but instead of a break medics found a large mass which raised alarm bells.

The 37-year-old, from Airdrie, was then later diagnosed with multiple myeloma which sadly has no cure.

The condition is a type of bone marrow cancer that often affects several areas of the body such as the spine, skull, pelvis and ribs.

He is determined to carry on fighting his illness to be around for his six-year-old daughter Mirren and partner Ruth Armstrong, 36.

Alex told the Glasgow Times: “It’s been a nightmare.

“The hardest thing is one day I won’t be here, and I worry about how Ruth and my daughter Mirren will get on, I get really upset thinking about it.

“When I fell and knew I had done some damage as I felt tingling from my toes to my head.

“I went for a scan to see if my neck was broken but they found a mass, I couldn’t believe it.”

Alex suffered his fall before the first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020 which resulted in serious soft tissue damage and medics finding his mass.

He then struggled to get appointments during the pandemic but finally, a bone biopsy confirmed his multiple myeloma.

The dad-of-one had been complaining of headaches since 2017 and had scans at University Hospital Hairmyres which were thought to be all clear.

However, after the previous scans were compared with his 2020 scan in University Hospital Monklands medics discovered the mass had been there all along but was smaller and harder to detect.

It now “kills” Alex to think he might have had more time being treated if it had been caught earlier.

His condition sadly has no cure, but he has been treated with chemotherapy and stem cell procedures to keep it “at bay.

Despite feeling “let down” the self-employed joiner is still very grateful for the NHS and hero medics who have supported him throughout his cancer journey.

Alex said: “The mass was very small the first time but if it had been found I could have had an extra three years of treatment.

“I now have lesions on my neck, spine, and hips, I am still waiting on new scan results to see if there are any more.

“There's no cure for my cancer but it might have given me a better chance of keeping it at bay with stem cell treatment.

“It kills me whenever I think about it, the NHS have been amazing with me and the teams work so hard, but I do feel a bit let down over this.”

Alex’s treatment has left him with nerve damage in his legs leaving him struggling with his mobility.

He has been hospital free since April and has regained strength so is now hoping to complete a hill walk for Myeloma UK.

Alex said: “This is the best I have felt in a while after having a break from chemotherapy.

“I keep saying to Ruth I don’t really feel like anything is wrong with me except from a limp, at least from the waist up.

“There are days the cancer is all you think about and lie in bed, but I try to get up and do things to keep my mind off it.

“I’m not anywhere near as fit as I used to be, but I will do my best on the hill walk.

“You don’t realise how many people are there for you until something like this happens.

“When I was in hospital last year it meant so much to me knowing people were doing the Ben Lomond walk for me so I'm excited to be a part of this one.”

Margaret Meek, site director at University Hospital Hairmyres, said: “Due to patient confidentiality, we cannot discuss individual cases.

“We regret any instance where someone feels we have failed to provide the highest standard of care. We would encourage anyone to contact our patient affairs team if they wish to raise any concerns to allow them to be fully investigated.”

You can donate to Alex and his fundraiser here.