Northampton father of three urges everyone to act on gut instincts following sarcoma cancer diagnosis
A Northampton father of three urges everyone to act on their gut instincts when it comes to their health following his Ewing Sarcoma cancer diagnosis at the start of the year.
33-year-old Danny Shanahan, who is a father to three daughters aged two, three and five, considered himself to have a normal life before last Christmas.
Back in September 2024, he began experiencing pain and slight swelling in the calf area of his right leg. This happened for a few days at a time and then disappeared for a week or so.
The symptoms persisted and in October, he contacted his GP and was advised that it was probably due to strain at work. He was told to get back in touch if it did not improve over the next four weeks.
Danny experienced another flare up towards the end of November and he was unable to get an MRI scan referral.
He was also unwell with the flu over the Christmas period and decided to persist with the GP once he was well enough, which was spurred on by another flare up which left him “in agony”.
After an ultrasound scan confirmed he did not have a blood clot as suspected by the GP, Danny felt like he was back to square one – and his leg had swollen to the biggest it had been since the symptoms began.
It was his youngest daughter’s second birthday in mid-January and Danny spent it in bed in tears due to the pain. He decided enough was enough and booked a private MRI scan at a nearby self-referral clinic for the next day.
Following the scan, he was shortly emailed about a mass in his right leg and saw the mention of Ewing Sarcoma cancer.
“My heart stopped and my world just fell apart,” said Danny. “I don’t have life insurance or a pension. My three girls, who would help support their mum? Was I going to die? Did I miss my last Christmas with them as I had the flu? All these things flew around my head.”
It was not long before Danny could no longer weight-bare on his leg and was reliant on crutches or a wheelchair.
After the report was sent to his GP and further investigations were done, it was confirmed that Danny had Ewing Sarcoma cancer and his care was transferred to Oxford Churchill Hospital.
It was all systems go from there and Danny began his treatment plan in mid-March, which consists of 14 rounds of chemotherapy over seven months. He will also have radiotherapy during the final two months.
Surgery will then be performed by a limb salvation specialist in an attempt to save his leg. The smaller back bone in his leg will be removed, as this is where the tumour is located and in the soft tissue around it.
Danny has been informed that limb amputation is rare but it can still happen. There are two main blood supplies into his foot and they need to keep one during surgery in order to avoid an above knee amputation.
The surgery will not save Danny’s life, but the chemotherapy will. Without this treatment, he would have had just 12 months to live.
Now, Danny has set up a fundraising page to help cover the financial burden of his Ewing Sarcoma cancer. The money will help him pay his mortgage and bills, cover travel costs to and from hospital, and support his young family.
His online fundraising page reads: “I am asking for donations as anyone who knows me knows I have three beautiful young girls, their mum and a house to support. My mortgage is £1,100 a month and that’s without any other bills. I understand times are tough for everyone financially.
“I really want to raise awareness. Trust your gut. That £350 private scan quite literally saved my life, as I could have still been waiting for an MRI referral from my GP. In the back of my mind I knew something wasn’t right.”
Talking to the Chronicle & Echo, Danny said: “Sarcoma seems to be so rare and there’s a lot that’s not known. It does get mistaken for a muscle injury and people get sent away. It takes a long time to get diagnosed.”
The 33-year-old described receiving his scan results letter as “scary” and immediately thought the worst about having to leave his girls behind.
At the time of speaking to this newspaper, Danny was undergoing his third round of chemotherapy and the medical professionals were optimistic about how his treatment will unfold. Though they cannot make any guarantees, they are confident they can cure Danny’s cancer.
“I have some savings but they are disappearing quickly,” he said. “The main thing is to raise awareness. It’s impossible to send everybody who goes to the doctors for a scan, but there are places out there offering private scans. It gives you peace of mind.”
Danny has been “overwhelmed” by the support shown on his online fundraising page, which has already exceeded £3,500. He has even received donations from complete strangers.