Chris Capstick, 41, from Bromborough, was told he had just months to live after spotting something on his back during his honeymoon in Greece in 2022. He believed it was an insect bite, but it was later diagnosed as stage four melanoma, a type of skin cancer that had already spread.
Repeated GP visits and misdiagnosis
Over the following six months, Chris repeatedly visited his GP surgery as the mark kept altering in appearance. Medics initially assured him it was a cyst, a circular lump typically filled with fluid or pus, which is generally harmless. However, Chris's case proved different.
Speaking to the ECHO, Chris explained: "I got married in Greece and that's when we noticed the 'insect bite'. Doctors told me it was a cyst. I went back several times as it changed colour and started to grow, and they kept saying it was a cyst. Then I was in work and it was quite uncomfortable. I got speaking to a colleague who said that her husband had a cyst removed in their GP surgery."
He added: "So I went back and asked the GP if they could remove it, which they did in February 2023. As soon as they removed it, I think they noticed it wasn't a cyst and sent it off for testing."
Devastating diagnosis and treatment
Chris was subsequently diagnosed with stage four melanoma, meaning the cancer had spread to distant areas of the body beyond nearby lymph nodes. He was given a mere 15% chance of survival and was with his wife Lauren, who was pregnant at the time, when they received the news. The couple now have three young children: Isabella, six, Mila, 10, and Nylah, two.
Following his diagnosis, Chris had his lymph nodes removed and underwent 13 months of immunotherapy. He was briefly declared cancer-free at the start of 2025, but just six months later, six tumours were discovered on his brain and another six in his body, indicating the cancer was terminal.
Fighting against the odds
Chris shared: "I was given 10 to 12 months to live. It was a massive shock for me and the family. We try to stay positive. I'm trying everything. I'm trying red light therapy, oxygen therapy. I've just done a stint in the hospital, just due to some side effects. My liver enzymes are quite high at the moment, so I've not had treatment for two months. We're trying to get them down via steroids. I'm trying to stay positive which is not always easy."
Just over a year after being told he had a year to live, Chris now doesn't know how long he has left. He said: "I had six tumours on my brain. Five of the tumours have disappeared, there's just one left on my brain now, so something's working, hopefully. At the moment I haven't got a prognosis of how long I can live."
Daughter's book as a legacy
Isabella has penned a children's book, Daddy's Little Monsters, aimed at helping other youngsters grasp the reality of a parent's severe illness. More than £630 has been collected so far to print and distribute the book to cancer centres, hospices, and Maggie's Centres throughout the UK.
Chris said: "We really struggled to explain it to all our children. My wife spent some time with Isabella, and she explained that daddy's got monsters in his stomach and planned to use medicine to kill them. Then she did some sort of art therapy and created the book over six months and published it via Amazon. To date, we've sold just shy of 300 copies. We've dropped copies in Arrowe Park, Clatterbridge, Maggie's Cancer Centre in Wirral and Lancaster Oncology. It would mean everything (to have the book across the UK). It's my legacy in a way."
