Man told shoulder pain was acid reflux diagnosed with terminal blood cancer
A man who was told his shoulder pain was due to acid reflux discovered he had incurable blood cancer - after pushing for a second opinion.
Ian Swindell, 60, started experiencing pain under his left shoulder blade in January 2025 and after being in so much discomfort he was unable to sleep and losing weight, attended A&E at South Tyneside Hospital, South Shields.
But doctors put the pain down to acid reflux - despite Ian visiting A&E three times over the next two months with concerns.
By June 2025 Ian went back to his GP and asked to be referred to Sunderland Royal Hospital for a second opinion.
After looking at his medical records, a doctor requested a bone marrow biopsy which confirmed the next day Ian had multiple myeloma – a cancer that affects the blood and bones.
Ian started chemotherapy in July 2025 and was told his blood count markers were 55,000, when the normal range is between 25 and 30.
Now his levels are back down to 77 and he has been given two to three years to live. He has placed a negligence claim against South Tyneside Hospital which is being assessed by his solicitor.
Ian, from South Shields, said: “This what I’m trying to get across to the general public – a lot of people have gone through the same as me and it’s been fatal for them because they’ve not pushed for second opinion.
“If I hadn’t pushed for one, I would have been dead.
“Everyone knows your own body, when you know something is not right seek second opinions.
“The pain was that bad I couldn’t sleep.
“I was losing weight and not even dieting.
“All the time I was going to South Tyneside Hospital they did CT scans, MRI’s, X-Rays and they still didn’t pick it up.
“I thought surely it can’t be cancer because cancer is not painful. “I’d never heard anyone complain about pain.
“The doctor at Sunderland Royal said I had blood cancer and it was incurable and said ‘don’t think you’re going to ring the bell and beat it because you won’t’.
“I appreciated it that he was honest."
Ian first went to A&E in January 2025 after he was struggling with pain under his left shoulder blade but was told by doctors it was due to acid reflux after an ECG and because of his heart attacks in 2010, 2016 and 2023.
Originally sharing his story through Talk To The Press, he says: “The next day it was even worse and I went back to A&E and waited 12 hours again and they said it was acid reflux.
“I went another two times to A&E in two months.
“I also saw my GP who gave me Gaviscon but to be honest the GP can only go on what the consultant said at the hospital.
“It was getting worse. “Come June everyone said I looked really ill. “I went to the GP and asked to be referred to Sunderland Royal Hospital for a second opinion”.
During a phone appointment on July 11 2025 a doctor asked Ian to come in for a bone marrow biopsy.
“She told me who she was and was looking at my medical records and I had been through the mill in the last six months,” he said.
“I had the bone marrow biopsy and basically, she told me the results more or less there and then that it was multiple myeloma.
“Even then I didn’t have time to process it."
Ian was admitted to hospital for five days after his diagnosis, and was admitted again the following week due to a lump on his spine - he needed emergency radiotherapy to shrink it as it could have caused paralysis had it grown any bigger.
His body responded well but he was left too weak to walk and has been left needing a walking stick and wheelchair, as well as having to move his bed downstairs at home.
He has now had six cycles of chemotherapy and now has it once every month.
“The hardest part is having to pay for your funeral, so your kids don’t have to worry about it when you’ve gone,” he said.
“There has been lots to sort out. “Once I was diagnosed Sunderland Royal Hospital went a hundred miles an hour and couldn’t do enough for me.
“I feel good and people say I look absolutely brilliant.
“You’ve got to look at reality. “This is just the short term. “I know it’s not a happy ending, I wish I could say it was but it’s not.
“Until then you’ve just got to enjoy life."
A spokesperson for South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust said: "We are sorry to hear of Mr Swindell's diagnosis.
"The Trust has had contact from Mr Swindell's solicitor and will of course share the relevant information about his care."
Words: Emily Phillips