A mother has described the moment she began screaming after doctors rang to say her 23-year-old son had died while she was driving home from Manchester. Nickodemus Dacres had been diagnosed with stage four medullary renal cell carcinoma (RMC), one of the rarest and most aggressive forms of kidney cancer, on February 6 last year.
Rare cancer diagnosis
Nickodemus initially endured extreme stomach pain at work and began urinating blood. After repeated visits to doctors, the diagnosis came on February 6 last year. He had been in and out of hospital ever since, with his mother Donna Dacres, 59, at his side. He died on September 26, less than two years after his diagnosis.
Donna was in Manchester at a church conference when he called that morning to say things were worsening. As she drove back to be with him, doctors called before she arrived with the news that he had passed away.
“I just started to scream,” she said. “I love him so much. He is my only son here, I don’t have anybody. I had no indication that he was going to die. The one time I left him in over two years. I went to church and he died. He died by himself.”
Mother's tribute
Paying tribute, she added: “He was such a bubbly young man. He had a heart of gold and he loved to give. As a mum, nothing prepares you for watching your child suffer knowing there is so little you can do to take the pain away.”
According to the Ricky Casey Trust, the true prevalence of RMC worldwide is not known. Donna said she was told only nine other people in the UK share this cancer.
Nickodemus began experiencing extreme stomach pain while on shift in July 2024 and was rushed to A&E by a colleague when blood appeared in the bathroom instead of urine. Tests continued for several months, and a scan uncovered a small tumour in his right kidney, but the family was not informed he had cancer.
Treatment and decline
Surgeons removed the kidney and several lymph nodes for tests in December 2024 as the lump continued to grow and pain persisted. The cancer had already spread to his lymph nodes and lungs. Chemotherapy followed, but the cancer progressed to his liver and bones, he vomited relentlessly, and his weight dropped from 74kg to less than 55kg.
Donna, originally from Jamaica, raised funds for targeted chemotherapy not routinely funded by the NHS. Doctors said the treatment was working after he stopped vomiting for several weeks. Other symptoms then appeared, including dark urine, shoulder pain, jaundiced eyes and black vomit, but scans showed his liver had not changed, so chemotherapy continued.
On Saturday, September 26, Nickodemus, a poker dealer from Croydon, south London, called his mother to say things were bad. He died before she could return. Donna said the chemotherapy, which had left her feeling optimistic, ended up causing liver failure.
“I went to church and he died. He died by himself. They knew his liver was failing from the morning. They had my number on file and knew I never left him and nobody called me.”
Donna feels let down by the hospital for not calling her and believes they should not have given him the last round of chemo in his condition. Having left her job to care for him, she is raising money to cover his funeral. She urged: “Young black guys need to go to their GP regularly to get checked. If you notice any abdominal pain do not ignore it.”
